Darker Than Black: Sentimental Black Reaper
by Sakabatou77
Summary: Things have been uncanny for the past five months after Hell's Gate's incident. Misaki continued her search for Li, and Hei has been interferring with the Syndicate's plans. *Misaki/Li*
1. Chapter 1

Darker Than Black: Hei's feeling

Darker Than Black: Sentimental Black Reaper

Chapter one: Syndicate's Decision

An elderly man sat in a brightly lit secluded room at the end of a ten-foot rectangular desk, listening to his four colleagues disputing the chaos at Hell's Gate five months ago. The order to kill Huang and that cat, Mao, had been successful, but BK201 and the Doll had escaped.

He interlaced his fingers and laid his chin on them, as a short middle-aged man sitting to his left stood and pounded on the desk.

"We've lost a lot of Contractors because of our little fight with Evening Primrose," he blabbered. "And recent situations with BK201 stringing up Contractors for the Foreign Affairs to arrest has put us in a tight pinch!"

He had little patients and constant panic attacks, causing a majority of the Syndicate to think about having one of their Contractors kill him. Unfortunately, there were no replacements.

"Sit down, Ken," demanded a muscular average-sized Scottish man across from Ken. He had bang length fluttery red hair parted to the right.

Ken scornfully returned to his seat.

"He hasn't strung up all of our Contractors, or have you forgotten he had killed MG678 a few months back," continued the Scottish man. "And you are right; it does seem to be we are in a bit of a pinch, but I do believe MI-6 and other organizations also received a major blow too. And if you recall, we are the ones to blame since we wanted to extinguish Contractors from our world.

"Yes, BK201 is a concern we need to think about. Whenever we thought we had him, he was always one step ahead of us, and sooner or later he will come and kill every single one here. The only thing we were able to do was prevent his puppet from spying on us. We need to find BK201 so we can kill him."

"I agree, Brian," spoke up a bald elderly man, sitting at the front. "But where is he? For all we know he could have decided he had enough and snuck into China or Alaska."

"I would take a guess that BK201 is still here in Japan," said the elderly man. "He wouldn't run off like a coward and hide."

"You can't be too sure, Mito. He may be a Contractor, but they aren't stupid enough to hang around a fight if they know they are unable to win."

"So how do we find BK201 and the Doll?" Brian asked.

The room went quiet. Only the humming sound of the air vents could be heard, as everybody pondered on a suggestion.

"I know how," said a tall slender dark-eyed man sitting next to Brian. He had bowl style black hair and buckteeth, under a crooked nose and blue slanted eyes. "Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs, Kirihara Misaki."

Everybody turned to face him skeptically.

"Kirihara Misaki, the one who investigates matters concerning Contractors?" questioned Brian.

"Hai. I had sent in one of our men into the Police Department, as Yoshimitsu Horai's Lawyer, and I got some interesting news."

"Like what?" asked Ken sarcastically?

"Just as BK201 was going to kill him, Misaki begged him not to."

"Not so surprising," Ken shrugged. "Misaki wanted to arrest Horai for his so-called crimes, and it wouldn't have done any good if he's dead. Maybe BK201 thought the same?"

"As did Horai until Misaki called out to him, saying the name he used as cover. Li, I think he said. BK201 responded with Li is dead. It seemed to Horai that they knew each other."

"Then why hasn't Misaki turned him in?" questioned Mito.

"The way I understood it they had had some kind of a relationship."

"A relationship? Contractors don't act on feelings to have a relationship, Hiro."

"Don't forget Shihoko Kishida was a Contractor, and she had had a relationship with Huang, or have you all forgotten."

"If that's so, Hiro, how are we going to get her to help us find BK201 if she _loves _him and he _loves _her?" mocked Ken.

Everyone stared at Hiro as they waited for an answer.

"Well, we could capture Kirihara Misaki and then BK201 will come to rescue her."

"BAKA!" Ken deafeningly shouted. "Kidnap Kirihara Misaki and have the whole Foreign Affairs looking for her and coming after our heads?"

"That's enough, Ken," moaned Mito while closing his eyes from a headache caused by Ken. He then opened and narrowed them at Hiro. "Are you sure BK201 will try to rescue her?"

"Hai," Hiro bowed.

Mito glanced around the table to see his colleges waiting for him to speak.

"I think it's a great idea," he finally said.

Ken looked on shocked, as the rest of the Syndicate stared at him speechless.

"You're insane!" barked Ken. "You and Hiro!"

"Shut up, Ken!" shouted Brian. He then looked back and forth at Hiro and Mito. "Are you two sure? If we do this, we could be in a serious pinch if things go wrong. Also, after we do kill BK201, Kirihara Misaki cannot leave our facility alive, and I don't think that _that old man_ will be pleased."

"It doesn't matter if he will be pleased or not, it's his loss that he didn't do anything about it, Brian." stated Mito. "And quite frankly I don't care. The question is: can any of you accept it?"

"I can," said the bald old man.

"As well as I," said Hiro.

Everybody around the table also agreed, causing Ken to snort and curse.

"If everyone beside Ken agrees, then I also agree," assured Brian with a devilish smile.

Xxx

Hei walked up to an apartment complex's office with Yin in Shinjuku and knocked on the door. A few seconds later a short squinty-eyed old man slid open the door and looked up at Hei. He placed on a pair of big rounded glasses, causing his eyes to widen behind them, and blinked.

"What is it?" croaked the old man.

"Eh, well, I was wondering if I could rent out one of your vacancies, ojisan?" asked Hei politely.

"Eh, do you have your past credit history with you?" Hei nodded. "Well, come on in then."

Hei and Yin entered the small room and kneeled behind a small desk. The old man pulled out an application form and set it down in front of Hei. Hei handed over a fake past credit report and began signing the name, Xing Kuang on the application, as the old man squint his eyes and fiddled with his glasses to read the report's cramped writing.

"It says here you were single," said the old man. He looked at Hei and then at Yin. "I will need your wife's signature as well."

"Eh, sorry for the confusion, but she is my sister," smiled Hei, as he scratched the back of his head from the embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry, youngster."

"It's quite all right, ojisan.

Hei continued filling out the application and then handed it back, as the old man returned Hei's credit report. The old man then slowly stood from the table, walked behind a counter to pick up something, and then handed Hei two keys.

"Room 201, which is on the second floor," said the old man.

"Hai, arigatou, ojisan," thanked Hei, as he took the keys and exited the office with Yin.

They ascended up to the second floor, and walked down to the second far end door. Hei inserted the key, opened the door, and allowed Yin in first. Hei followed, taking off his shoes as Yin did, and noticed the room was exactly like his last place. He walked over to the sink, plugged the drain, turned on the faucet, and filled it up half way. He then grabbed a pan to pour water in, and then turned off the faucet.

Hei walked over to Yin, who was sitting on the windowsill to feel the afternoon air whip at her face, and set the pan down by her bare feet. She settled her right foot in it, causing a blue like ghost to pop its head out of the sink.

"Do you think we'll be safe here, Hei?" she asked.

Hei had Yin watched the Syndicate for information on missions, enabling Hei to intervene and help Kirihara Misaki arrest Contractors, but they had caught onto their scheme. A few times the Syndicate had located where he and Yin lived, which created a ruckus, and forced them to run.

"I don't know," replied Hei.

Xxx

Kirihara Misaki sat in her office late at night looking out the window at the false stars. Although Dr. Schrader and Horai had been placed under arrest for their failed attempt at killing all Contractors, it had not stopped construction on Hell's Gate.

Misaki had tried to see the reconstruction terminated, quoting what Eric Nishijima and Horai had confided in her, but she was unsuccessful. Apprehending Contractors was a burden on her department, especially with the continuous assassin attempts. Since the public had found out of their existence, many humans had foolishly approached Contractors, thinking they could take them on, and were killed.

Her thoughts dwelled on Li, not wanting to believe he was BK201. Li seemed like a great guy who wouldn't hurt a fly, and yet BK201 was a type of person who would kill someone if he or she got in his way. They were two different people living inside each other.

Her being with Li before Hell's Gate's fiasco was wonderful and wished it had never ended. She wished she could return to that moment, but Misaki wondered if Li had enjoyed her company since Contractors are deceivers.

Misaki leaned forward while placing her elbows on her desk and lacing her fingers behind her head, as she fought with her emotions.

A noise behind her caught her attention, causing Misaki to stand and pull out her gun.

"Is anybody there?" she called out. "Hello?"

Misaki slowly scanned the office, once in a while checking behind her, but nobody was present. She continued eyeing the area while roaming around desks and holding out her gun.

"I know someone's here," Misaki informed. "Why don't you come out and show yourself."

She waited for the person to show his or herself, but there was no reply, agitating Misaki.

Footsteps suddenly sounded behind her, making Misaki whip around and point her gun at Saitou. He threw up his hands and started waving them in defense.

"Oi, Chief, it's me!" shouted Saitou.

"Saitou?" questioned Misaki surprised, as she placed her gun in her purse. "Wha… what are still doing here?"

"I forgot something." Saitou lowered his hands.

"Why didn't you call out when I asked?"

"Eh, sorry, I had food in my mouth. What are you still doing here?"

"Finishing up some reports."

"Oh, well, I'll grab what I need and be out of your way."

Saitou walked over to his desk, picked up some things, and approached the elevator. He hit the down button to open the elevator door.

"Saitou!" spoke up Misaki. Saitou looked back at her. "Sorry about pointing my gun at you."

"It's all right, Chief," smiled Saitou.

He turned on his heels and entered the elevator. Within seconds the door closed. Misaki returned to her desk and sat thinking about Li, not even giving her work a glance.

_Darker Than Black_

The following morning Hei walked the confined streets of Shinjuku, as he looked for the fast food restaurant that was hiring, and found it moments later. He entered the cramped store, cluttered with occupied tables and chairs, and walked up to the counter where a young woman stood smiling.

"Welcome, sir. Can I help you," she greeted.

"Hello, I'm here to apply for a job," said Hei.

"Is that so?" questioned the young woman.

"Hai."

The young woman guided Hei to the back of the room and had him sit behind a desk. She then walked over to a drawer, pulled out some papers, and then laid them before him. She bowed and left Hei to fill out the application.

As he wrote down his false name, new address, and other stuff, the aroma of the food played with his sense of smell, which caused an uncomfortable feeling to arose in his stomach and let out a loud growl.

"What was that?" asked a customer.

"I—I don't know?" responded the young woman.

Hei blushed as his stomach uncontrollably growled again.

"It came from your back room!" the customer squealed. "You don't have a monster or something back there, do you?"

"No, I think it's the pipes. They are kind of old."

Hei's stomach growled even louder.

"That's no pipe. You have something back there and it sounds like its hungry. I'm out of here!"

"Me too!" shouted another customer and then a few others.

Hei heard footsteps rampaging in the dinning area and out the door. Within seconds everything was quiet. Hei stood and stepped into the front still blushing and noticing the young woman frowning.

"I'm sorry," Hei apologized, as he handed back the application.

Hei walked towards the front door, looking down at the floor, as his stomach growled again.

"Oi, here," spoke up the young woman.

He turned around to see the young woman throwing him a burger and caught it. Hei looked down at it and then at the young woman.

"Consider it on the house even though it was already paid for," she replied.

"Arigatou," replied Hei, and exited the store.

He continued down the streets eating his burger, knowing he wouldn't be hearing from them, and entered other stores that were hiring to fill out other applications.

xxx

Misaki's footsteps echoed in the Municipal Police's brightly lit parking garage, as she walked towards her car late at night. She recalled the story Li had told his Landlord after Hell's Gate, stating a convenient lie in order to disappear.

She continued to search for him, but her determination led to dead ends.

"_The man named Li is dead."_ Li's words repeated in her head.

Misaki knew that wasn't true since she could here it in his voice.

The corner of her right eye caught a glimpse of a shadowed figure running by. She pulled out her gun while examining the garage to see who it was, but there was no one. She continued searching around vehicles and glancing behind her every few seconds.

A tall man with messy red hair suddenly skidded a few meters away, which caused Misaki to point her gun at the person and shout, "Don't move!"

The red-haired man didn't listen and ran at her, forcing Misaki to shoot. He held up his hand and unexplainably a void-like black hole appeared, swallowing the bullet.

Misaki looked on shocked, as she said to herself, "Keiyakusha!"

She quickly regained her composure, leaping to her right as the tall man threw the black hole-like void at her feet while letting off another round. He barely swallowed her second shot.

Misaki started to run, but she was unable to move from being held in an ankle deep void. She aimed her gun at the man, but another void appeared around her wrists.

"What do you want?" Misaki asked.

"I want nothing," said the man.

A van drove up and skidded to a halt behind him. Its side door slid open with men in black-like co-op uniforms filing out to seize Misaki. The Contractor released his hold on her so the co-op men could cuff her hands and force her into the van.

"Who are you people?" she demanded. "What do you want with me?"

"Silence!" shouted one of the men. He then turned to face the Contractor. "Good work, ML921."

"As long as you remember who caught her," replied the Contractor.

He turned away from the van, pulling out a knife, and slashed Misaki's tires as the co-op man slammed the side door shut.

xxx

Misaki was jostled along a brightly lit corridor and forced into a white room. The cuffs around her wrists were removed, and then the co-op men locked the door. She walked over to a one-way mirror and pounded on it.

"Come out!" she shouted. "I know someone is behind this mirror!"

Misaki continued yelling and banging on the mirror with no reply. Ten minutes later the door unlocked and opened. An elderly man walked in with two guards standing by his side with a SOF Combat Assault Rifle, also known as FN SCAR, which was the latest model.

"Who are you?" asked Misaki.

"Who we are doesn't concern you," said the elderly man.

"We? Wait a minute; you work for a group that hires Contractors." The elderly man just smiled at her comment. "Why have you kidnapped me?"

"We kidnapped you so BK201 could come and rescue you, Officer Kirihara Misaki."

"BK201? Wh—why would he bother to rescue me?" Misaki stuttered to say.

"I think you already know that answer, Detective."

"What do you want with him?"

A devilish smile appeared on the man's face. "We want him dead."

xxx

Hei and Yin sat down at a somewhat crowded restaurant for lunch, as guest and employees watched Hei devourer his twenty-ninth serving of ramen noodles astounded. Yin sat quietly after finishing her own food. A young waitress, who was shaking her head, walked over to pick up his empty bowls, and nearly dropped them when he asked for another.

"You're going to get fat when you hit your thirties," informed the waitress.

Hei smiled awkwardly at her. She shrugged it off and walked behind the counter to drop off the stack of bowls in the sink. She returned with his thirtieth serving and set it before him so he could continue his meal. A television mounted on the back wall broadcasted a gimpy weatherman reporting a hot week, and a cool rainy weekend.

"_In other news," _spoke up a newscaster. "_The Tokyo Police department has announced that one of their own had been kidnapped last night. We are told that the person's name is Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs Section four, Kirihara Masaki."_

Hei dropped his chopsticks in his bowl, as he stared up at the television with a few strands of noodles still hanging from his mouth.

"_An officer by the name of Yusuke Saito stated that her car is still in the parking garage." _The newscaster continued with._ "He thinks that the kidnapper had stabbed all her tires to prevent Chief Kirihara Misaki from escaping, and then attacked her."_

Hei narrowed his eyes at the television, and then continued eating. Once he was done, he paid the bill and left with Yin to walk through the crowded streets of Shinjuku.

"Hei, you are concerned for that woman?" asked Yin.

"Hai," replied Hei.

"Do you know who might have kidnapped her?"

"The Syndicate is behind it. The slashed tires weren't done to keep Misaki from running; it had to be a Contractor's obeisance."

"How can you be sure it's the Syndicate? It could be MI-6 or Pandora."

"From what Mao had told me six months ago."

"You want to save her, don't you, Hei?" Yin asked.

"Hai," Hei nodded. "You think you can find where they're holding her?"

Yin nodded and walked over to the curb. She removed her shoe, settled her foot in a puddle, and looked for Misaki across Tokyo.

"I found her," she said a few minutes later. "They're holding her in Nakano."

"All right," Hei responded.

"Hei, I'm coming with you."

Hei turned to look at Yin shocked and said, "It's not safe."

"Hei, you won't be able to save her alone. I'm coming with you."

Hei stared at her flabbergasted, but nodded in reply.

He guided Yin towards their apartment in silence. They entered their room moments later with Yin kneeling to place her hand in a water filled pan, causing her spectre to appear in the sink. Hei walked over to one of the closets and slid it open to reveal his mask and black coat. He picked up his mask and held it before his face to stare at the haunting feature.

A/N:

Japanese translations:

Neko: Cat

Nihon: Japan

Baka: Idiot

Ojisan: Old man

Hai: Yes

Arigatou: Thanks

Iie: No

Keiyakusha: Contractor, but I think everyone knew that


	2. Chapter 2

Darker than Black: Sentimental Black Reaper

Darker than Black: Sentimental Black Reaper

Chapter Two: Infiltrate the Syndicate

One month prior to Hell's Gate incident:

Hei departed from Mizukiso apartment and headed towards the park where he and Mao talked without Huang breathing down their necks. Mao seemed a little on edge about something and wanted to speak with him alone. Hei was more concerned about what had happened to his sister Bai in South America and where Amber was hiding.

He reached his destination to see Rika feeding Mao again. She looked up at Hei smiling, and then ran off to help her father at the Home Run House restaurant. Hei stared down at Mao who was still munching on the dry food. He wondered if Mao liked dry or wet food and meant to ask him some day.

"What is it you wanted to tell me without Huang around, Mao?" Hei asked.

"There is a Contractor in the Syndicate that concerns me, Hei," said Mao between bites, not looking up at him. "ML921, code name Tsu. Huang thought you shouldn't know, but I beg to differ. I had my encounters with him and he is dangerous."

"Aren't all Contractors dangerous?" questioned Hei.

Mao looked up at Hei with a stern face and said, "He can manipulate space and trap your arms and legs to prevent you from moving, and also swallow anything that comes at him: like bullets. You might have heard on the news about some people who were killed, and his or her car tires slashed: that's his obeisance."

"Why tell me?"

"The things that have been going on with Huang, Yin, you, and me I'm quite sure the Syndicate does not like: especially with that Syndicate woman Huang loved. If they do decide to take us out because of our actions I fear they will use him. Hei, you may be strong, skillful, and had taken on some cunning Contractors, but I think ML921 could give you more than you bargain for."

Mao continued eating his food, as Hei pondered on his words. He had his tough dealings with Contractors like November Eleven and Wei, but if Mao was concerned about a Contractor named Tsu, should he?

Present:

Two co-op men, one taller than the other, walked down a brightly lit hallway chattering and laughing about Misaki's kidnapping, as their boots echoed off the floor.

"I heard ML921 easily captured her," said the taller co-op man.

"Yeah, she's usually a hard case to deal with," said the other. "What I wouldn't give to have fifteen minutes alone with her."

"I agree, but I get her…"

A man in a black coat and white mask whipped around a corner and threw a cable line at the tall co-op man, wrapping it around his wrist and shocking him. The other co-op man swirled his assault rifle at the intruder, but the masked man quickly ran across the hall, and placed him in a chokehold before he could pull the trigger.

"Where's Kirihara Misaki being held?" the masked man asked.

"You—you are, the Black Reaper!" shouted the man in pain.

"Where is Kirihara Misaki?" The masked man repeated angrily, as he tightened his grip.

"G—gomen, Twentieth floor, room 201."

"Thank you."

The next thing the guard felt was a bolt of electricity tearing through his body.

xxx

Misaki stood beside the door holding a piece of wood she was able to break off of a bed, hoping to knock out the person who was bringing her meal soon. Her stomach growled, as she reminisced on having dinner with Li. If this was a trap to catch BK201, she was not going to allow that to happen.

The door opened, revealing a mid-sized man carrying a tray of food. He was overwhelmed with shock, as Misaki swung and struck his face, causing him to drop the food and fall backwards into the hallway.

Misaki quickly snatched up the tray and bashed it over the guard's head, knocking him out. She grabbed his feet to drag him back into her cell, and searched him to see if he was carrying a weapon. She swore to find out he was unarmed.

She exited the cell, closing the door behind her to prevent the guard from alerting his colleagues of her escape, and began cautiously walking down the hall holding the tray while looking for an elevator or an emergency staircase.

Suddenly, a guard in a co-op uniform turned a corner in front of her.

"Crap!" she cursed.

"Don't move!" ordered the guard, as he pointed his FN SCAR at her.

Misaki took a leap of faith and threw the tray at her opponent who easily dodged it, but she relied on the distraction in order to run around a corner and shake off her pursuer. Unfortunately, he stayed on her like glue.

She cursed to herself while looking over her shoulder. Suddenly, Misaki lost her balance and tripped over her feet and fell. She stood to run, but the guard had caught up to aim his gun down at her.

"Persistent aren't you, Officer Kirihara Misaki," he said.

The guard raised his assault rifle to knock her out. She braced for the impact, but a cable unexpectedly wrapped around the muzzle of his gun and ripped it from his grip. The guard looked back to see who it was, as did Misaki. To her surprise she stared back at a white mask with a blood-red smile and a purple lightning bolt across the right eye.

_Li-kun? _Questioned Misaki to herself

"Why you!" shouted the guard, as he pulled out a knife and charged. "Black Reaper!"

The guard flipped his knife backwards and then swung it at BK201, who moved his head backwards to dodge the attack, and then side stepped a slash to knee the guard in the stomach. BK201 pulled out his own knife, and knocked the guard on the back of the head with the hilt.

Misaki stared up at the Contractor she had chased as BK201, but underneath the mask was the man she had spent a day with as Li.

He slowly approached her and then stopped a few centimeters away. Misaki hesitated for a moment, wondering what the masked Contractor would do next. To her relief and comfort, he held out his hand to help her up.

"Come with me if you want to live," he said.

Without question Misaki took his hand, allowing him to help her stand. She couldn't see his blue eyes behind his mask, but felt them staring at hers, causing her heart to pound against her chest. Time seemed to stop while in the presence of the man who had stolen her heart and then had wounded it.

Misaki had so many questions to ask him and so many things to say, but her feelings for Li and the turmoil they were in held her tongue.

"Yin," he said to nobody particularly. "Anybody near by?"

"_No_," Misaki heard a girl's voice coming from Li's left ear. "_I don't see anyone_."

"Wakatta."

He was about to lead Misaki through the corridor, but she held him up in order to retrieve the SCAR. After picking it up, Li guided Misaki around the labyrinth floor, confusing her of where they were. To her relief an elevator came into view.

"_Hei, watch out!_!" shouted the girl called Yin. _"There's someone around the corner!"_

Li pushed Misaki to her right, causing her to fall on her bottom. She glanced over at him as ML921 threw a black hole where she had stood. Her captor flung another one at Li who dodged it while throwing his knife. ML921 held up his right hand to form a black hole and swallowed the knife.

Hei stared at the Contractor, knowing he was the one Mao had talked about six months ago. It seemed at the moment he was going to have a battle on his hands and wondered if he could succeed in beating him.

"BK201," spoke up ML921. "I longed the day to fight you and see who is the best, and finally it has come. I had hoped it was going to be the day you, that Neko, and Huang decided to help Shihoko Kishida escape, but she ended up killing herself.

"But the past matters not. I shall kill you, making me the Syndicate's favorite pet, and then kill Officer Kirihara Misaki since we won't need her."

ML921 smiled devilishly while hurling another black hole. Hei moved sideways as it darted passed centimeters from his shoulder. He ducked backwards while another soared at his head, and then side stepped one more in the process of pulling out a spare knife backhanded. He charged and swung at ML921, missing as ML921 moved slightly backwards to grab and twist Hei's arm, making him drop the knife, and getting kicked across the face.

His mask was shattered into pieces and scattered along the floor while Hei jumped backwards a couple of times to give himself space. He tensed as he felt Misaki's grieving eyes shadowing him. He knew she wasn't surprised to see the face of Li Shengshun, but he pushed his emotions aside in order to get them out alive.

ML921 drew back his right arm and threw a black hole like a Frisbee. Hei twisted around it and dashed at his opponent. He arched back his right arm and swung to miss, as ML921 ducked and followed up with an uppercut, also missing when Hei effortlessly performed a roundhouse kick, and struck ML921's face, causing him to spew out blood and twirl around to land on his stomach.

ML921 stood while grinding his teeth at Hei, but turned his attention to Misaki as she let rip the SCAR. He summoned a black hole to swallow the uncountable bullets, and then threw another at her. Hei frightfully scrambled towards Misaki and knocked her out of the way. He turned his attention at ML921 and noticed he was smiling devilishly. Hei narrowed his eyes at him while trying to walk towards his opponent, but then realized his left foot had been swallowed ankle high in a third black hole. ML921 threw one more and bound Hei's right hand. He then withdrew a knife from inside his pocket and twirled it in his fingers, as he walked up to Hei.

Hei thought desperately of what to say to get him out of the mess he was in, but only one thing came to mind.

"Wait one moment, Tsu, I know something that you'll be interested in hearing," began Hei, causing his opponent to stop a few centimeters away. "The Syndicate and the other organizations want all us Contractors around the world dead. They tried doing it at Hell's Gate."

Tsu looked at Hei baffled, but then smiled it off.

"Do you take me for a fool, baka?" questioned Tsu. "I won't buy into that and let you and your woman run off. Die, BK201!"

He raised his hand to strike down at Hei, but suddenly his face stared off horror-struck, and then fell forward. Hei looked down at him surprised, noticing his knife was sticking out of ML921's back, and gazed up to see Misaki standing behind him with a relieved expression on her face. Apparently she had snuck up behind ML921 and stabbed him while his focus was on Hei.

Darker Than Black

Yutaka Kouno sat in the passenger seat, as Saitou maneuvered through the busy night streets of Tokyo. Saitou's expression told Kouno that he was concerned for Officer Kirihara Misaki. They couldn't get any leads on her whereabouts, or who the kidnappers were; which made Saitou believe that he was failing Misaki.

"Saito, you need to stop blaming yourself," spoke up Kouno.

"Sorry, Kouno," muttered Saitou. "It's just that I wish some sign would fly before my face and tell me where she is."

"With your luck it'll probably smack you right-square in the nose." Kouno smirked.

Saitou glanced at him for a second with a stern face, but he found himself smiling. His cell phone rang. Saitou began fishing around in his coat pocket with his right hand, removed the phone moments later, and nearly dropped it while flipping it open.

"This is Detective Yuusuke Saitou," he said. A voice echoed from the phone. "What was that? ML921 and BK201 are active?"

Kouno looked at Saitou shocked. They had gotten word from Kanami Ishizaki that ML921 was active around their Head Quarters yesterday, which Kouno thought Misaki's kidnapping and the Contractor's appearance were linked, but Saitou had another theory.

"Where?" Saitou asked. The voice echoed through Saitou's phone again. "Nakano? Arigatou, Ishizaki."

Saitou closed his phone, hit the switch to turn on the siren, and squealed his tires as he did a U-turn.

xxx

Misaki and Li stood in opposite corners of the elevator, as it counted down the floors from level twenty. Li was looking down at his feet so he wouldn't have to stare into her eyes.

"Why did you risk your life to rescue me?" Misaki asked.

He glanced over at her startled; as she stared at him with a stern face she had given him as BK201. He looked down at his feet again.

"It was the logical thing to do," he said. "I've been looking for a way to take down the Syndicate."

Misaki's eyes widened in shock, believing he was lying, which crushed her heart, and caused tears to form in her eyes. She had never experienced excruciating pain to where it hurt to breath in her life. Her legs began to buckle under her wait, but Misaki forced herself to stand before the man she knew as Li, and narrowed her waterlogged eyes.

"Uso," Misaki replied. "Liar!"

He looked up at her startled from her accusation, and then averted his eyes while frowning.

"Gomen," he mumbled.

"Naze? Why did you say to me Li-kun is dead?"

He stood silently not looking at Misaki, as she waited for a reply.

"I didn't lie," he replied. "He was a lie, a convenient cover. All there is now is Hei."

"Liar!" screamed Misaki, causing a tear to run down her cheek. "Li-kun did NOT die that day. If he had died, then you would have ignored my plea and killed Horai, but you didn't. You could have killed that guard you saved me from, but you only knocked him out. If anybody died that day, it was the Black Reaper!"

He stared up at her flabbergasted.

"The… Black… Reaper?" he stuttered.

Li stared into nothingness, as if he was pondering on Misaki's words. Suddenly, the elevator's voice caught his attention.

"_Fourth floor… third floor… second floor… first floor… garage floor."_

The doors sprung open, as Misaki and Li placed their backs up against the elevator wall. Li peered slightly around the corner to see if it was clear, and then ushered Misaki to follow him out. She did so as they headed for the side of the garage and came up to a manhole, causing a foul stench to prickle her nose. Li removed it and looked down into the sewer.

"Yin!" he shouted.

"I'm here, Hei," a girl's voice came from the dark.

The girl walked into the dim light, showing she had silver hair pulled back, and a black and purple bushy dress that someone would wear to a funeral. Misaki felt jealously overwhelm her and wondered what that girl meant to him.

"Misaki," he turned to say to her, and gestured for her to climb down. She did what he asked, and then looked up at him to see he was staring down at her and Yin. Fear started to overwhelm her. "You and Yin head down the tunnel and get out of here."

"Yin and I?" questioned Misaki. "Li-kun, what about you?"

He stared at her for a moment, but then looked away to answer with, "I'm going back to take care of some things."

"Wh—what did you say?" Misaki asked, as her eyes widened in horror. "Go back? What for?"

"To make sure the syndicate stays away from you."

Before Misaki could respond he refitted the manhole, leaving her and Yin alone. She couldn't peel her eyes away from it, as she trembled in fear.

"Lets go," spoke up the girl named Yin, as she held out her hand to Misaki.

"Wait, Li-kun wa…"

"Don't worry. Hei won't die. He'll come back."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Yakusoku. Hei promised me he'd always come back. Let's go."

Misaki took Yin's hand and then ran through the dark confined damp sewer. Misaki's nose burned from the sewage's lingering smell and prayed they would be rid of the place.

Finally after what seemed like a marathon run for her, Yin came to a halt. She then began to climb up a ladder, shoved a manhole aside, and clambered out. Misaki followed, exiting onto a street cluttered with ramen stores that severed fish bones. Yin began leading Misaki somewhere, but Misaki held her back.

"You're a Doll, right?" she asked.

Yin turned her head slightly to the right, not answering Misaki's question, and then looked forward and said, "Hai."

"Please, tell me if Li-kun is alright."

Yin stood still for a second before walking over to the side of the road. She took her right shoe off, and set her bare foot in the stream running along the curb. She stayed quiet, not moving a centimeter for the longest time.

"There," she said, as her head twitched upwards. "Daijoubu, Hei is fine."

Misaki was grateful he was all right, and let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. But to hear he was still in the building worried her.

"Where is he?" she asked Yin.

"He's on the top floor heading to the west wing."

xxx

Mito roamed around in his office concerned about the events that were happening in the building. He had a spacious room that had a sparkling view of the city with the Tokyo Tower gleaming in the background.

Mito had gotten the report that Misaki had escaped from her cell, which he ordered the guard responsible for the mishap to be killed. The plan to get BK201 to come and rescue Misaki had worked, but ML921 had failed to kill him.

The phone on his desk rang.

He hit the speaker button and said into it, "What is it?"

"_Sir, get out of here_!" a voice shouted through it. "_Ku—Kuro no Shi—Shinigami…_"

Something cut off the guard. Believing he was in danger, Mito opened one of his drawers, pulled out a revolver, and checked to make sure it was loaded. Relieved that it was, he sprinted for the door, but it suddenly burst open with a guard screaming through it.

Mito looked towards the door and nearly stained his drawers, as he stared at the man he knew to be BK201. He raised his revolver and pulled the trigger, but BK201 shielded himself with his coat's sleeve, and swiftly ran at him. Mito hesitated for a split second from his attacker's speed, and then took another shot only to miss. BK201 grabbed and twisted Mito's arm to disarm him, and then socked him across the face. Mito stumbled back a few paces before tripping and falling on his back. BK201 bestowed a split double-edged knife, flipping it backwards, and pressed the sharp edge blade to Mito's throat.

"Pl—please, don't… kill me," begged Mito.

"I have no intentions of killing you; at least not tonight," BK201 responded with. "But if you or any of your men attempts to kidnap Kirihara Misaki again, I might not be so lenient in sparing your life."

"Na—nani?"

Shock overwhelmed Mito from BK201's comment, believing the Contractor known as the Black Reaper was bestowing feelings for Kirihara Misaki.

BK201 pressed the knife a little harder against Mito's neck, causing blood to seep down his skin. He then withdrew it to stand, snatched a cell phone off the desk while walking up to the window, and shattered the glass with his ability. BK201 threw his cable outwards, hooked onto something, and swung out into the night.

Mito stood and walked over to the shattered window, crushing the broken glass under his feet, as he watched BK201 land on a building's roof and then jump down from it.

Mito grinded his teeth while checking his wound with his right hand and said, "This isn't over yet, BK201."

xxx

Police Sirens were whining in the distance, as Misaki stood in silence staring at Yin's back, as she narrated Li's battle calmly.

"He's coming from the west," she said.

Misaki looked to her left and saw nothing, but then noticed his dark feature swinging on a cable line towards them. He disconnected the cable to land on a roof, jumped onto the street, and settled next to Yin and Misaki.

Li turned his head to look at Misaki and then walked over to her, causing Misaki's heart to beat like she had finished swimming laps in a pool. He stopped a few centimeters away, which intensified her breathing, and made her heart feel like it was going to explode. He reached into his coat, pulled out a cell phone, and placed it in her hands.

"You'll need this to call Saitou," he muttered.

Li stepped over to Yin, and took her in his arms, making Misaki feel even more jealous. He threw out his cable line and hooked it to a light pole.

"Wait!" Misaki cried out. He turned to look at her, which she shied from his blue eyes, but over came it and stared back at them. "Thank you!"

He smiled at her, reminding Misaki of the Li she knew still existed, and then swung off with Yin. Misaki kept her eyes on them until they had disappeared into the night. She then flipped open the cell phone, dialed Saitou's number, and within a few seconds his voice spoke into her ear.

"Saitou, it's Kirihara," she said.

"_CHIEF?_" he shouted in the phone, causing Misaki to flinch and pull it away from her ear. "_Where are you?_"

"Ah, about that, give me a second." Misaki looked at a street sign and read Kanpachi-dori. "I'm in Ogikubo."

"_OGIKUBO!"_

_xxx_

Misaki sat next to Kanami on a bench in a park near Meji shrine the following day. She had mentioned to her of what had happened concerning her capture.

"BK201 saved you?" a shocked Kanami said. "Why would he do a thing like that?"

"I don't know, Kanami," Misaki lied. "Please don't tell anyone else."

Kanami sighed and said, "I need a cigarette. Don't worry, I can wait till later," she assured Misaki, who twitched from the word cigarette. "Do you think the Syndicate will come after you again?"

"I hope not. I'm just grateful ML921 is dead. He was…."

"ML921 dead?" questioned Kanami. "I don't recall seeing any stars fall from the sky last night?"

"Nani?" shouted Misaki, as she whipped her head around to stare at her friend flabbergasted. "Are you sure?"

"Hai." Kanami nodded.

Misaki looked down at her feet. ML921 was a tough opponent Li had faced, and to hear he was still alive scared her to death.

xxx

Japanese Translation:

Doko desu ka?" Where?

Domo: Thanks

Uso: Liar, or you lie

Naze: Why

Daijobu: All right, safe. Using as: It's all right.

Yakusoku: Promise


	3. Chapter 3

Darker than Black

A/N: Sorry I haven't said anything in the previous chapters, but I'm not use to how things are posted on this site yet. Okay, first off, all rights of Darker than Black belongs to Bones and Tensai Okamura. The names of the Musicians I mentioned in here belong to themselves and their companies.

Thanks go out to Dear4life for being a second eye reading through this to make sure spelling was right, the story fit with the anime, and the characters weren't ooc. Thanks go out to the readers who have read this so far, and to the ones who commented. I also want to thank ElementIce and Ominae for pointing out my errors.

Please enjoy, and I will try to have the next chapter up before the end of July.

xxx

Chapter Three: Assistant Foreign Affairs Section Four Chief

The Syndicate gathered in the conference room with Ken glaring devilishly at Hiro. Hiro frowned as they sat to begin their discussion concerning the events that had happened.

"Nice plan, Hiro!" yelled Ken. "Too bad it failed!"

Hiro snarled at him saying, "At least I had an idea, where as you just sat around complaining."

"And for good reasons too! Mito almost got killed by BK201 because of your idiotic idea!"

"That's enough, Ken," Mito blabbered. "I don't need you to defend me."

"But, the one thing we don't need right now is losing a member in this crisis."

"If you don't stop bickering we will lose one right at this instance!" stated Mito.

Ken almost fell backwards out of his seat from Mito's threatening words, but he regained his balance by grabbing the table to keep himself up right.

"Thank you," said Mito. "Although we may have lost this battle with BK201, the war is far from over. We still have an Ace up our sleeves."

"Eh, what do you mean by that?" Brain asked.

"The extermination of all Contractors," replied the old bald man.

Hiro, Brian, and Ken stared at them puzzled. Ken clenched his teeth and barked, "Oi, are you a complete idiot! There isn't going to be another solar flare like the one we need for another four years and seven months. And plus, BK201 had dismantled the Saturn System, or have you forgotten?"

"I agree," replied Hiro. "I may not like Ken, but I have to agree with what he had said. Except about you being an idiot, Akira."

The old man named Akira frowned at the comment.

"Tsk, you two better not get under my skin," he warned. "Anyway, I think it's time to tell you three something that Mito and I know."

"Oi, oi, you think we can trust them?" asked Mito.

"Trust us?" yelled Ken. "Trust us? What do you think we are? Contractors?"

"We know you're not, Ken," replied Akira.

"Why you! Oi, Hiro, Brian, aren't you two upset at this at all?"

"No, not at all," replied Brian.

"Yeah, what else do you expect from a bunch of old men like them?" Hiro smirked.

Ken, and Brian blinked at Hiro stunned, but then they started to giggle.

"Oh well. Tell us what you two know," Brian chuckled.

"Wakatta," said Akira, as he leaned forward to lace his fingers together and looked over his hands. "After the failed attempt at South America, Dr. Schrader began to think that someone would be as crazy as Bai, BK201, and try to do the same thing to the latest Saturn System."

"He was right about that," pointed out Ken.

"Quiet!" shouted Mito.

"Anyway," continued Akira, "he decided to design another machine that could connect up to the Saturn System and give it the energy it needed."

"Impossible," muttered Ken. "Don't tell me that that machine can…?"

"Hai, it can absorb solar flares. During the last solar flare, Dr. Schrader had his other machine, The Solar Absorber, absorb the sun's solar flare."

"Impressive," smiled Hiro.

"As soon as the Saturn System is running, we can finally wipe out the Contractors once and for all," smirked Mito.

"Sounds easier than it seems," bellowed Ken. "You're still forgetting one thing, or rather, one Contractor: BK201."

xxx

Misaki stood in the Commander's office, as the sun shined through the windows, making it warmer than it seemed. She stared at the new commander who was promoted after Horai was arrested, and waited for him to finish reading the report concerning her kidnapping. He was an average Japanese man in his forties with graying short hair and toned form, wearing a pressed suit.

Commander Hayatsu Yamato stayed quiet, as he flipped through pages with an expressionless face that made sweat trickle down Misaki's left temple. She had heard many things about him; like his several arrests and the kills he had done in service to the Okinawa police force, and wondered how she would fair against him. Misaki was a good shot, but it was said that the commander could shoot a fly off someone's nose.

After what seemed like an hour of standing like a soldier, the commander threw the report on his tidy desk, leaned back in his chair while lacing his fingers in front of him, and stared at Misaki.

"It seems to me you had quite a ride, officer Kirihara," he said.

"Ah, I don't think I would have made it out if it weren't for BK201," replied Misaki.

"If it weren't for BK201? How is that?"

"After I escaped from my cell, I saw him fighting with ML921, which gave me the opportunity to sneak by without either of them noticing me. To my surprise, all of the guards were knocked out, allowing me to run for the elevator unharmed. I headed down to the main floor, and walked right out the front door. I was lucky."

"Extremely. Do you know why he was there?"

"I don't know, sir."

The commander turned his head slightly to the right while narrowing his eyes at her. An uncomfortable feeling surfaced in the pit of Misaki's stomach and wondered if her commander thought she was lying.

"Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki, surely you must have a theory?" gestured the commander. "Take a guess."

Another drop of sweat worked its way down the side of her face, as she fought to hide her surprise from the commander's comment. Misaki knew Li had saved her because of the little relationship they had had a few months ago, but if she were to say such a thing like that the department would have her badge.

She forced her brain to work fast to come up with a theory.

"Well, you did blabber all over the news that I was kidnapped," she stated. "Maybe he thought this was the Syndicates doing, and it was a good chance to take them down."

The commander contemplated on her words for a few seconds, and then slightly tilted his head in question.

"Good theory, but I have another," the commander replied, shocking Misaki. "I think BK201 came to rescue you. But what I don't understand is why. If BK201 was going to take down the Syndicate, he would have just killed everyone and that'll be it. But no one was killed, and why would this Syndicate kidnap you to begin with? I get the impression there is more between you and him than you let on, Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki."

Misaki braced for the worst as the commander straightened his composure and continued with, "You are suspended for two weeks with pay pending an investigation on the matter."

"Two weeks?" Misaki surprisingly questioned. "But, sir, there are Contractors out there killing! I'm needed here. I swear I won't get in the way of whoever is doing the investigation."

"I agree, but your father demands it."

"Otosan?"

"He thinks you're distracted and your head is not in it anymore."

"Why would my father think that, sir?"

The commander stared at her expressionlessly, not answering her question.

"Your badge and gun please, Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki," he demanded, and then looked past her to shout, "Officer Rikinaru, enter!"

A tall muscular Japanese man around Misaki's age walked in the office. He had slick black hair parted to the right and hollow eyes engulfed in light brown rings.

Misaki's eyelids slanted at him and felt something awkward about his appearance. He stopped before the commander's desk, looked over at Misaki, and smiled like he was ordered to.

"Section-Chief Kirihara, this is Officer Rikinaru," Yamato said. "He'll be taking over your cases for a while."

"How do you do, Section-Chief Kirihara," Rikinaru said with a slight accent, holding out his hand. Misaki looked down at his out stretched hand for a few seconds before shaking it. "I wished I was here on better conditions and working with you."

"Ah," replied Misaki.

"Section-Chief Kirihara," spoke up Yamato. Misaki turned her attention to him. "You are to leave your badge and gun with me before you leave."

Misaki didn't like the idea of her father demanding her badge and gun, but she had no choice. She approached the commander's desk, withdrew her gun, unclipped her badge, and set them down hard. She then turned on her heels, exited the office, and walked over to the elevators as her partners looked shocked.

"Chief!" shouted Saitou, as he, Kouno, Kunio, and Ootsuka approached her. "Please tell me they aren't suspending you?"

"Ah, they are," replied Misaki.

"But why?" Ootsuka asked.

"Yeah, what about the Contractors still out there?" Kouno asked.

"Officer Rikinaru will be leading you all. Saitou, Kouno, Kunio, Ootsuka, there's something about him I don't trust. Watch your backs."

They stared at her stunned, but nodded their reply. Misaki looked away from them and entered the elevator.

xxx

Growling sounds echoed throughout Shinjuku, causing dogs to bark, cats to hiss in fright, and car alarms to buzz from the sudden noise. Residence of the area looked around to see if they could find where it was coming from, and located it at an apartment complex.

The metro police were called in to investigate the unidentified noise and started knocking on doors. Residence of the place were praying to Buddha, or hiding under their futons. They knocked on room 201 to have a black-haired man answer it with a rice ball stuffed in his mouth.

"Hello, sir," said one of the officers. "We're here investigating a loud growl and wondered if you are hiding an illegal animal or something."

The black-haired man pulled the rice ball from his mouth and smiled awkwardly at the officers saying, "I'm sorry, but that was my stomach growling. I forgot to eat something this morning and, well, I got a little hungry."

The officers stared at the black-haired man speechless, as their eyes blinked dumbfounded simultaneously.

"That was your stomach?" questioned the other officer after a minute of silence.

"Hai," the black-haired man said while bowing.

"You are a foreigner, correct?" asked the first officer. The black-haired man nodded. "May I see your Residential Alien Card, please?"

The black-haired man nodded, stepped away from the door, and then returned with his papers. The officers then noticed a young girl in a black and purple dress sitting by the window with her hand in a bowl of water.

"My sister," the black-haired man informed them, as he handed over his stuff with two hands.

"Oh," said the first officer. He took the papers using two hands, and sorted through them. "Xing Kuang, and your sister… Xin Kuang?" The same pronunciations of the two names and the difference in the spelling caused the officers to look at him awkwardly.

"Our mother was a strange woman."

"I'll say," said the other officer.

"Well, sorry to disturb you and your sister, Kuang-san," said the first officer, as he held out the papers two handedly.

"I'm sorry for the loud noise, officers," replied the man named Xing, as he took his papers back.

The officers tipped their hats, turned away, and descended the stairs as Xing closed his door. They walked over to the patrol car and sat in it.

The first officer picked up the receiver to say, "Head Quarters, this is car twenty-six calling, over," he said.

"_Car twenty-six, this is HQ, go ahead," _replied a feminine voice.

"HQ, we checked out that loud noise and it was some Chinese man's stomach growling, over."

There was a long pause.

"_Car twenty-six, can you please repeat that. It sounded like you had said someone's… stomach… was growling?"_ The feminism voice questioned.

"That's exactly what I had said, Riku," replied the first officer.

There was another long pause.

"_Haru, remind me to cancel my trip to Hong Kong," _replied Riku.

"Clearly noted. Over and out."

Haru started up the patrol car and drove off.

xxx

Hei watched the patrol car drive off and turn the corner, allowing him to release his breath he had been holding for a while. He cursed his stomach for being so loud and wondered if that was going to be his demise.

There had been a secret mission Amber and he were on in South America where they had to sneak into an enemy base camp. Everything was going according to plan until his stomach had growled and gave Amber and his position away. Luckily for Amber's power they were able to live through the ordeal, but it was the first time he witnessed Amber's obeisance taking affect on her.

The phone rang, causing Hei to withdraw from his memory and answered it.

"Moshi, moshi?" he answered.

"_Hello, is this Xing Kuang speaking?" _asked a man's voice.

"Hai."

"_Xing Kuang-san, this is the McDoness Burger you had filled out an application at a few days ago. We would like you to come in for an interview today if you have the time."_

Hei stared blankly at the wall with his eyes wide open in shock. The place calling was where his stomach had scared its customers, which made him wonder why McDoness wanted an interview?

"_Kuang-san, are you still there?" _The man's voice asked.

"Oh, sorry. Yes, I can be there in a few minutes if that's all right?"

"_It is quite all right, Kuang-san. See you then. Goodbye."_

"Goodbye; and thank you."

A click sounded in his ear, which told him the man had hung up. Hei returned the phone to its mount, walked over to the door, and fastened on his shoes.

"You got a job, Hei?" asked Yin.

"An interview," replied Hei while he finished tying his shoes. "After I'm done I'll pick up some ramen for dinner."

"All right."

Hei exited his and Yin's room, descended the stairs, and walked towards the _McDoness Burger_ that wasn't too far. The streets and sidewalks were packed for the early afternoon commute, which took him longer to reach his destination.

Once he arrived, Hei entered through the sliding doors, and walked up to see the same girl working behind the counter.

"Welcome to…" she began with a smile, but stopped and shrieked in fright while pointing at Hei. "You—you… you're the guy who scared all my customers away! What are you doing here?"

"I was called in for an interview."

"What did you say?" The girl ran into the back and disappeared around the corner. "Boss, you can't hire him. He's the one I told you about."

"I know, Kaname, but he's the only one who's filled out an application and we need the help," said a voice Hei recognized from the phone.

"But, SIR?"

"Do not worry yourself over it and let the young man back here!"

The girl walked around the corner slumped over with her eyes narrowed, as she approach and stopped before Hei to gesture him behind the counter. He walked to the back room smiling at two other co-workers, and turned the corner to see a man in his thirties sitting behind a desk.

Hei sat in front of him and waited for the man to speak.

"Hello, my name is Himura Sasuke, the manager of this store," the thirty-year old man said while bowing. Hei returned it. "I looked over your application and saw you live not far from here. I also noticed you're not Japanese. I take it there won't be a problem understanding your co-workers, right?"

"No, sir," replied Hei.

"All right. When can you start?"

"Whenever, sir."

"How's tomorrow morning for you?"

"Good, sir." Hei nodded.

"Good. One other thing I need to talk about with you: your stomach. Make sure it's full before you come in." Hei smiled awkwardly. Sasuke bowed again. "See you at six sharp, Xing, and you can call me Sasuke."

Hei returned the bow. He stood to step from the small office, walked by the two workers, and then passed the young girl named Kaname who eyed him devilishly until he exited.

xxx

Night had fallen over Tokyo. Saitou and Rikinaru were the only ones left in the Foreign Affairs Section Four office. Saitou had his head lying on the desk looking depressed due to Misaki's suspension.

"Saitou-san, why don't you call it a night," said Rikinaru.

"Ah, I guess I should," replied Saitou.

He stood from his chair, waved good night to his Assistant Chief who smiled, and entered the elevator. The door closed, leaving Rikinaru along. His expression turned serious, as he stood from his chair, walked over to the commander's office, and kneeled before the door while pulling out a tool to picked the lock with.

After unlocking the door, he entered the commander's office, rounded the desk, and turned on the computer. Once the computer booted up, Rikinaru pulled out a portable USB drive, plugged it in, and downloaded files concerning Contractors and their abilities.

Darker than Black

Hei groggily woke up at five in the morning to get ready for his first day at work. Yin was sitting still in the light from a lamppost outside. Ever since the incident with the Russian Contractors, he noticed her every morning sitting in the night-lights, but her enjoyment wasn't the same when the Doll's spectres were released.

"Good morning, Hei," she said.

"Good morning, Yin," replied Hei.

After Hei finished getting ready and ate ten bowls of rice, he quietly exited his apartment and headed for work. The walk was a brittle one from the cool morning, but it did not affect him as his thoughts dwelled on Misaki.

She was a strong and brave woman, who wouldn't let anyone get in her way, but when she was around him her defenses dropped and her emotions got the best of her. It was the same with Hei. He would have never had tried to rescue her due to exposing his and Yin's whereabouts, but even Yin had known he wanted to rescue her, meaning she could see the changes in him too.

He reached McDoness and knocked on the back door. A few minutes later the girl named Kaname answered it.

"Tsk! Come on in," she gestured rudely.

Hei entered to see the same two men working yesterday. They started showing him what to do, which he caught on quickly before they opened for the morning crowds.

Working at restaurants and other food places helped him adapted to the situation and he made quick work of his efforts.

The day seemed to fly by and before he knew it they were switching over to lunch. Hei quickly adjusted to the change, which pleased his co-workers except Kaname, who kept a lien eye on him whenever she had the time.

Noon was drawing near as the afternoon shift came in to take over, but before they could Hei's stomach let out a loud growl, causing Kaname to run back and screamed, "Can't you hold that thing for another fifteen minutes?"

"So—sorry," was the only reply he could give.

Once his shift was over, he took home a few burgers and fries, eating a few, and entered his apartment to give Yin some.

xxx

Misaki and Kanami stood on the somewhat crowded JR line heading towards Shibuya wearing their out-on-the-town clothes. Kanami had called Misaki and asked if she wanted to go to Shibuya and do some shopping. Misaki had agreed and said she'd be by to pick up her friend in twenty minutes, but upon arriving Kanami had suggested on taking the JR line.

"But that's going to be packed with people," Misaki had stated.

"Only during rush hours, Misaki," Kanami had replied.

Misaki sighed at the memory and wished she had her Porsche's gas pedal under her foot. She looked around the train to see advertisements lining over the windows and hanging from the ceilings. Occupants were sitting or standing quietly, talking with someone, or texting friends. Whenever they approached a station, a voice would announce where they were, and what side the doors were opening in Japanese and in English.

They reached Shibuya moments later. Misaki and Kanami fought their way out of the train, and descended the stairs to a crowded terrain of businesses with costumers entering or exiting them, as others were crossing congested traffic. Buildings held up billboards of latest movies and animes, causing fans to point and shout that they couldn't wait to see them. Misaki recognized a Manga she had caught Ootsuka reading during work hours.

Kanami dragged Misaki into a few clothing stores, which irritated her, and tried to hide it. She liked to go out shopping, but her friend was obsessed with it.

By noon Kanami was carrying three bags of clothes in her left hand, and three bags that contained boxes of shoes in the other, as Misaki held only two.

Misaki's stomach let out a little growl, which made her friend look back at her and said, "Hungry?"

"Hai," she replied.

The two friends stopped to get a bite to eat at a McDoness nearby.

Kanami frowned at Misaki eating the greasy food and asked, "Aren't you afraid you're going to gain all that gunk in your hips?"

"Nope," replied Misaki, as she swallowed a piece of burger. "You forget; I do a lot of exercise."

"So do I, Miaski, but I still watch what I eat."

After finishing their food, Misaki thought they were going to head back home, but Kanami dragged her along another strip of shops, buying more clothes, and pleading for Misaki to carry them.

Misaki looked at her watch and frowned, as they entered Tower Records.

"Oi, Kanami, its four o'clock," she pointed out. "In another hour the JR line will be crawling with people getting off of work."

"Wakatta, Misaki," said Kanami. "I won't be long."

Unfortunately she was, picking up different artist like Gackt, Dir en Grey, Gazette, Paramore, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, System of a Down, Deaftones, Seether, and Ashes of Soma.

They exited the store and headed back to the JR line station. Misaki looked down at her watch again and saw it was past five. Once they reached it, the place was cluttered with people in business suits waiting on the platforms.

"Misaki, lets go towards Ueno," spoke up Kanami.

"What, why?" questioned Misaki. "It's quicker to go towards Tokyo than the other way, and it'll be crowded as bad at Harajuka and Shinjuku."

"Oh, we'll be alright, Misaki."

Misaki and Kanami fought their way onto the train and bunched in tightly. The other train had a conductor shoving people so the doors could close. Misaki suddenly felt someone squirm against her back, making her feel uncomfortable, and having her glance over her shoulder. An old balding man with glasses was smiling gleefully. She then realized the man reeked of cigarettes, and it was getting all over her clothes.

The doors closed and the train headed towards Harajuku, as Misaki tried to hold her breath. As the train stopped at the next station, the old man purposely let the momentum push him harder into Misaki, making her want to knock the creep out, and swore to pay back her friend for the fiasco.

The doors opened so passengers could get off, which Misaki hoped the smelly old man would as well, but he didn't, making her curse to herself as other riders stepped on. Misaki tried moving away from her parasite, but he too moved as the doors closed.

Misaki was about to address to him she was a police officer, but a green coat caught the corner of her right eye and looked towards it. To her surprise she saw Li standing in the next train with Yin by his side.

"Li-kun!" she called out, surprising Kanami, and causing the old man to jump back, probably thinking Li was her boyfriend.

Kanami looked to where Misaki was staring at, causing her to stare in shock.

Misaki gathered her composure, dropped hers and Kanami's bags, and fought her way to the other car. As she entered it the JR line pulled into Yoyogi, and opened its doors, allowing clustered passengers to file out with Li and Yin amongst them. She fought to get off the train, but the doors closed as she reached them. Li had his back turned towards her, making Misaki banged on the window to get his attention, which it did, and caused him to look back. His eyes widen as his mouth dropped in shock. They stared into each other's eyes for a second before the train started pulling away.

Her heart sank with bitterness from missing him, as she leaned up against the door and fought to keep her tears from forming. She had found Li, but a trivial thing had prevented her from reaching him.

Once the train pulled into Shinjuku station, Misaki exited it to run down the stairs, and up the other side, barely making it onto the southbound train. The ride back seemed to take forever. Once the train stopped and opened its doors, she ran out from the car and down the stairs in hope to find the man she was falling for.

Misaki looked around to see if Li was in the vicinity, but there was no sign of him. Suddenly, she saw a man with black hair wearing a green coat, and ran after him, bumping into almost everyone.

"Li-kun!" she shouted, but the man didn't turn. "Li-kun!"

Misaki was able to catch up to him, pulling on his coat, making the man turn around, and show that he wasn't the man her heart cried for.

"Gomen," she apologized, and let the annoyed man go.

Misaki looked around the station to see if Li would exit a store, maybe standing at a booth buying a magazine, or walking amongst the crowd. To her dissatisfaction there was no trace of him.

Her cell phone began to ring in her purse. She rampaged through it, pulled out her phone to see it was Kanami's phone number, and answered it.

"Kanami," she said into it. "I'm sorry about that."

"_No need to apologize,"_ said Kanami. "_Next time try not to drop my bags! Did you find him?"_

"No."

"_Oh, sorry to hear that. I'm at the next station."_

"Hai."

Misaki closed her phone and looked around one last time. Unable to find Li, a bitter emptiness consumed her, and let it linger as she headed up the stairs.

Hei was leaning up against the wall and peering around the corner waiting for Misaki to leave. He wanted to go up and talk to her, but the situation they were in wasn't the best time.

"She's gone," Hei informed Yin.

"Are you sure you wanted to do that, Hei?" asked Yin.

"Hai."

xxx

Midnight had dawned, as Saitou headed back up to his work floor to grab his keys he had forgotten. He stepped from the lift, walked towards his desk, but stopped after hearing a noise in the commander's office. Saitou approached it while drawing his gun, and held it before him as he entered to see Rikinaru messing around on the commander's desk.

He was about to lower his weapon, but Misaki's warning echoed in his brain and he shouted, "Freeze!" Rikinaru looked up at Saitou startled. "What do you think you're doing?"

Rikinaru didn't answer while looking flabbergasted at Saitou, but then smiled.

"I'm gathering information for my organization, Saitou-san," he informed while walking around the desk.

"Not another step!" Saitou ordered.

Rikinaru didn't listen. His eyes burned crimson red, and his body outlined in blue. Suddenly, he ran at Saitou. Saitou tried to fire off a shot, but he was too slow from how quick Rikinaru pulled out a concealed bat, swung it at Saitou's head, and knocked him out.

xxx

Misaki sat on her couch with her television on while thinking about Li, and wondered when he had gotten on the JR line? She figured he had to be living between Harajuku and Yoyogi, but she wasn't too sure. She leaned forward and rubbed her temple.

Her phone on the desk rang. Misaki picked it up and answered with, "Kirihara desu." Ootsuka's voice hastily burst into her ear. "Wow, slow down Ootsuka! What did you say?" She let her speak. "Nani?"

Japanese Words:

Demo: But

Otosan: Father

Nani: What


	4. Chapter 4

Darker than Black

Chapter four: Affliction

Misaki bent over her boss's desk with her fist pressed hard against it for support, as she glared at him with her teeth clenched. Ootsuka had told her that Saitou had been arrested for stealing files from the commander's computer, but she couldn't believe it.

"But, sir, I know Saitou wouldn't do a thing like that!" screamed Misaki.

"Unfortunately, he was caught red-handed, Section-Chief Kirihara," informed Yamato.

"Who was the one who caught him, sir?"

"Officer Rikinaru."

Misaki's eyes widened in shock as her mood lightened up while she stood straight. She turned to look through the office window to see Rikinaru talking with Kouno. As if Rikinaru felt her eyes on him he turned his head around and smiled at her.

"Rikinaru found him?" Misaki asked while turning her attention back at her commander. "Sir, what was his report on the situation?"

"He had said that he had walked in on Saitou downloading my files onto this Portable USB Drive," informed Yamato, as he held up the drive. "Saitou tried to run in which Rikinaru was able to knock him out before he could."

"What did Saitou say?"

"He said he couldn't remember."

"Eh? How could Saitou not remember?" Misaki narrowed her eyes and titled her head contemplating the question. "I know!" She responded with as a theory surfaced.

"What is it, Section-Chief Kirihara?"

"Sir, the organizations that the Contractors work for have the ability to make people forget, right? Kanami had called me this morning to tell me HR123 was active last night in this vicinity. What if Rikinaru is HR123? He would have contacted his higher ups to have them wipe Saitou's memory."

"Section-Chief Kirihara, you are way out of line."

"But, sir. I believe he was here stealing files and Saitou must have run into him."

"That's enough, Kirihara!" shouted Yamato, as he stood while slamming his right fist down on his desk and rattling his things. "I will not hear you accusing Officer Rikinaru of being a Contractor anymore. I'll have you know I had researched his background already and he's clean."

Misaki stared at her commander flabbergasted from his comment. It couldn't be true that there was no foul play in Rikinaru's past. She trusted her gut that he had to be a contractor, or at least working with an organization that used them.

"Also, nothing important was taken," pointed out Yamato. "As for the case concerning Saitou: it's settled. Now get out of here, and I do not want to see you back until you are cleared!"

"I want to see Saitou before I leave," pleaded Misaki.

"Out of the question!"

"Sir, please."

"I said no, and I do not want to make it an order, Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki!"

Misaki frowned and glared at her commander to show her dissatisfaction regarding his orders, but he didn't avert his eyes from her intimidation. She cursed as she turned to storm out of his office. She tried to ignore Kouno and Ootsuka's stares, but her eyes kept on drifting towards them. They looked concerned and eager to talk with her, but with everybody's eyes on them it wasn't a good idea.

Rikinaru said something to Kouno while nodding his head, and then quickly made his way over to her.

"Section-Chief Kirihara, can I have a few words?" he asked politely.

"Hai," replied Misaki, as she stopped and stared at him irritably.

"I must apologize for being the one to come across Detective Yuusuke Saitou as a spy. Although I believe you and your partners would have had a hard time arresting him."

"Officer Rikinaru, the one thing I know about Saitou is that he isn't a spy. He's too ignorant to be one."

"And if he was, I believe you wouldn't have been able to take him into custody because you love him."

"Ex… excuse me?" Misaki questioned from shock.

Rikinaru joylessly smiled, saying, "Just Joking."

Misaki's mouth dropped open as she remembered November Eleven saying that line to her in which she had quoted it to Horai. Rikinaru frowned at her appearance and looked disoriented.

Before any other words were exchanged, Misaki departed from Rikinaru's presence, and entered the elevator with her co-workers eyes on her. She descended to the first level, entered the lobby, and exited the building. As she reached the bottom of the ramp she noticed a familiar face.

April was smiling at Misaki with July standing next to her.

Two years ago in Scotland:

Five men dressed in dark clothes from head to toe stood pressed up against a murky wall. One of the men, holding a briefcase and wearing water bottles around his waist, peered around the corner to stare at a ten-story building, and noticed a side entrance unoccupied. He looked back at his men and motioned with his right hand for them to follow him. They swiftly and quietly approached the side entrance. Once they had reached it the lead man pointed to one of his men to step forward. The man he pointed to did, placed his hand on the door, and glowed blue to cause the door's lock to transfigure into part of the door. He then pushed it open.

The lead man took point before his team and cautiously guided them down the dissipated hall towards an emergency staircase. The men entered it and ascended it quietly to prevent their feet from echoing. The team reached level five moments later. The lead man pointed to another one of his men, who walked over to the door, and placed his hand on it while glowing blue.

"It's clear on the other side," he said, as he pulled his hand away.

The lead man opened the door, entered into a brightly lit corridor, and gestured for his men to follow. They turned left at the first hallway, and then passed another one before turning right at the next corner.

They got halfway down the hallway when a guard whistling Dixie trotted around a corner. He nearly fell on his bum from spotting intruders, as he bobbled his assault rifle. He regained his balance, pointed his rifle at them, and fired. A fourth man on the team stepped in front of everyone, held up his hands, and created a one and a half meter circular sapphire shield to block the bullets. The guard freaked out and turned around to run, but the lead man grabbed one of his water bottles, as his body highlighted in blue, and threw an icicle into the man's back.

Alarms sounded around them, indicating someone had heard the gunshots.

The team quickly continued down the corridor. They stopped moments later in front of an office with the name, '_J.L. Kingrow_,' and busted into a dimly lit but spacious room. The lead man scanned it. It had two windows stretching from ceiling to the floor across the room. A tidy oak desk sat in front of it, a cabinet placed up against the right wall, and a safe in the far left corner. The team took up perimeter formation, as the fifth man walked over to the safe and kneeled before it. He glowed blue and in which blue plasma light shined from the tip of his right index finger, and pointed it above the safe's latch to slowly cut circularly around the three-centimeter thick door. The latch fell forward with smoke wafting from it, and the hole the plasma man created, and opened the safe's door. Inside were two orderly piles of CDs stacked to the right side with stacks of money and jewelry next to it. The lead man laid his briefcase on the ground and clicked it open. He then started scrounging through the CDs for the ones MI-6 wanted.

After the lead man had collected over a dozen CDs, and disorganized the safe, he guided his men from the office to a line of guards on either side of them with their rifles at the ready.

"FIRE!" ordered someone.

The guards poured out their ammunition, as the shield man created a bubble shield to ricochet the bullets into the floor, ceiling, walls, and a few of the guards. The lead man grabbed bottles in both hands, and turned them into icicles as he threw them to his left, striking two guards. The transfigured man pulled out four small rocks, transfigured them into knives, and threw them one at a time to his right, hitting his targets.

After the team disposed of their nuisance, they descended the stairs, exited the building, and jumped into their getaway car. Twenty minutes later they reached their safe house, entered it, and pulled off their masks.

"What did you think about this bloody job, Jake?" asked November Eleven to the transfigured man.

He was an averaged height man who was brawny with dark skin. He had creasy dark hair parted to the right and tan eyes with medial pupils.

"Too easy," replied Jake.

November Eleven smirked while he pulled out a cigarette to place it in his mouth and light it. He puffed out smoke while a man with red hair started smacking his head. A brown-haired man began to dance to nothing in particular, as a bald man seemed to be asking himself questions and answering them. Jake walked over to a cage, pulled out a black and white cat, and kissed its bum.

"That's ghastly!" said the man with red hair to Jake.

"Yeah, well, you gotta do what you gotta do, mate," replied Jake.

"I wish I had April's obeisance," said the bald man.

"I think everyone of us wished we had that," said November Eleven. "The one thing I know for sure is when I'm about to die and I had used my ability, I will not be lighting one of these ruddy cigarettes."

"The one thing I wished I had done was wait to do my obeisance until I disposed of you lot so I wouldn't have to do it a second time," commented Jake, causing everyone to look at him peculiarly.

Jake's body turned blue as he transfigured four rocks into knives from his pocket, and threw them to kill the three underlines. Jake pulled out two more rocks, transfigured them together into a sword, and swung it at November Eleven who stepped back to avoid from getting his neck severed. He then ducked under a horizontal swing, as he went for a bottle at his side, but realized he was out.

November Eleven continued dodging Jake's attacks until suddenly, something grabbed his feet, which caused him to fall onto his back. He looked to see what held him, noticing a pair of hands sticking out from the floor that had wrapped around his ankles. He figured Jake had created them while he was distracted. Jake stood over November Eleven smiling.

"What's the meaning of this, mate?" asked November Eleven.

"It's called treachery, dude," Jake replied, losing his English accent.

"You're a Yankee?"

"That's right. I was hired to sneak into MI-6 and help steal these files so I can steal them later."

"How convenient."

"Expect anything less from a Contractor? Too bad you won't be able to keep your promise to yourself since you're about to die and already fulfilled your contract. Goodbye, Jack Simon!"

Jake raised the sword over his head, but before he struck, November Eleven flicked his cigarette at a water sprinkler, causing it to go off. As Jake brought his sword down, November Eleven moved out of the way to make it stab where he had been. He held out his right hand and froze portions of the drenching rain up to Jake's face. The right side of Jake's face was engulfed in ice to where it seemed a horn had sprouted.

November Eleven grabbed the icicle and pulled it, ripping off Jake's frost bitten skin, which caused mushy blood to spatter onto November Eleven and the floor. Jake screamed from an excruciating pain, as he warily covered his lacerated face that was gushing out blood everywhere, and turned to run out the door.

Present:

Misaki listened to April explain about the past concerning November Eleven and Jake. She was impressed with his quick thinking with the cigarette, and if it wasn't for his obeisance, November Eleven might have died that day.

"MI-6 did nothing about it, and I can see why now after we found out what they were up to," finished April.

"And this was HR123?" questioned Misaki, which caused April to nod, as she sipped her beer.

"July was eavesdropping on your friend at that laboratory. When he heard the numbers he immediately told me. We came down here to see if he was still around, but he was already gone."

"I think he's still here," replied Misaki with a calm and neutral look. "In fact, I believe he's the one who took over my position while I'm on suspension."

April looked at Misaki shocked, and then whipped her head around at her companion to say, "July, see if it's him!"

July walked over to the window to place his hand on it, stood still to make Misaki believe he was thinking, and then removed it moments later while shaking his head saying, "It's not him, April."

"Well, it was worth the try," sighed April. "We'll see you around."

April and July walked off into the crowd. Misaki headed over to her car, entered it to start it up, and merged into traffic. Her mind dwelled on what April had told her about HR123 and his ability.

If it was him who had sneaked into the Foreign Affairs he might have transfigured things into key cards to enter restricted areas. But if it were Rikinaru who was HR123 he wouldn't need to. Unfortunately, that theory was all ready proven by July that he wasn't HR123.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything yet. She drove down a street in Shinjuku, looking for a good place to eat, and stopped in front of a fast food restaurant. She stepped from her car, entered the restaurant, and walked up to a young girl standing behind the counter.

"Welcome to McDoness Burger, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yes, I would like to…" began Misaki.

A loud growl sounded behind the young girl. Misaki recognized it, as her eyes widened in shock while the girl disgruntley smiled.

"Can you wait one minute, please?" she asked, and then ran to the backroom to smack the back of a black-haired man's head. "What is wrong with you and that stomach, Xing? Can't it wait another ten minutes when you get off work?"

"Sorry," he said.

Misaki's heart sank as she stared at the man who had been tormenting it. "L—Li-kun?" she muttered.

The girl was about to smack him again, but stopped from Misaki's words, as she and Li looked over at her.

"Misaki?" said Li unbelievably, as his eyes surprisingly widened.

The girl turned her attention back at him and asked, "You two know each other?"

xxx

Rikinaru stepped into the Foreign Affair's garage and walked towards his car for lunch. He fished for his keys in his pocket, pulled them out to hit the disarm button, and opened his door to sit in the driver's seat. He inserted his keys in the ignition to start up the car, threw it into reverse to back up, and then shifted into drive to pull out of the parking garage. After driving a few kilometers, a man with dark eyes and a black bowl style hair cut sat up in the back seat.

"The Embassy is not happy with your performance," said the bowl-style haired man.

"It's not my fault that that big idiot got in my way," replied Rikinaru. "You guys are lucky I was smart enough to bring along a spare Portable USB drive, and download unimportant information so I can give you guys the real one. My job is done."

"Not so fast. The Embassy wants more."

"More? Why?"

"You tell me since you work for them."

"So do you."

"As side missions. Just do what you're told to do and get more information."

"Fine, but there's something the Embassy needs to know. Kirihara Misaki is getting suspicious of me, and it's only a matter of time before the commander sees through my disguise too.

"How?"

"No idea, but after tonight's little mission, I'm running."

"You will stay in the Foreign Affairs until the Embassy says for you to leave."

**Darker than Black**

Misaki sat across from Hei while their lunch sat in front of them untouched. Misaki glanced at Hei a few times, but kept looking away blushing. Hei stared at her, but whenever she glanced at him he would look away.

"Xing," Misaki said, breaking the silence, as if to see how the name sounded to her. "Is Xing your real name, or is it another _convenient_ cover?"

Hei looked at her startled from her comment, knowing she didn't mean how it came out, but her agony had taken over her emotions. He looked down at his food, no longer hungry from the feeling of guilt eating at his insides.

"Just… just a convenient name," replied Hei.

"Then what is your real name? Is it Hei?" Misaki's anger rose, causing customers to look their way. She ignored the stares while waiting for a reply.

"No, it's just a code name."

"Then what is your name? I have the right to know."

Hei sat motionless as he thought of what to say to her. He couldn't give her his real name since he believed she would be furious, and she would never want to see him again.

"I looked up your name, and there had been a Li Shengshun who lived in China with a sister named Xing," said Misaki. "The records I read had stated that the whole family had been gunned down over ten years ago. That isn't true, is it? At least two people had survived that night, isn't that so?"

Hei stared at her baffled.

"Is it also not convenient that you're using the same name as your sister right now?" she continued. "Please tell me you are that boy and the girl was your sister?"

He averted his eyes from hers since he was unable to give her an answer: he couldn't.

Misaki could see it in his expression, making her look away from him. Moments later she looked back at him.

"At least answer me this one question I wanted to ask you while I chased you from your old apartment. Did you choose the same path as me with Contractors and humans living together?"

Hei stared at her lost for words. He was unsure himself if Contractors and humans could live together. Humans would live in fear of Contractors and they would do ignorant things to rid them. Contractors were perfect killing machines since they had no emotions, and they would annihilate humans without a second thought.

"Please, tell me!" she cried out.

He looked into her brown eyes to see them bitter and displeased. Hei tried to think of something, but nothing came to mind. Back before he had feelings for Misaki, he wouldn't have had a problem lying, but his emotions had gotten the best of him.

"Li-kun!"

"I—I'm sorry, Kirihara-san."

Misaki stared at him shocked that he had addressed her as an individual and not as a close friend.

"Li… kun?" she muttered, her words sounding like they were kilometers away. Misaki's mouth opened and closed to say something, but the words were lost to her.

"I'm sorry, Kirihara-san, but I must be going," spoke up Hei.

He slowly stood from the table, looking away from her, and mournfully walked out of the store.

Misaki sat alone at the table motionless; her vision and hearing obscuring everything around her, as she dwelled on Li's paralyzing words. He had been looking at her differently these past few days, which made her feel like they were compatible, but that had changed in a blink of an eye.

Her heart ached to be by Li's side, but since she worked for the Foreign Affairs and he was a Contractor, he believed they couldn't be together. Misaki didn't see it that way. She would gladly hand in her badge if it meant he could hold her in his arms.

Misaki felt her cheeks were wet from something and touched them, realizing she was crying. Her tears began to pour heavily from her eyes like waterfalls, as she found it hard to breathe, as if her lungs were caving in on themselves.

She regained her composure, wiping away her tears, and stood to run out the door in hope of catching Li before he could disappear. Misaki scanned the area to see he was nowhere in sight.

xxx

Hei returned to his apartment as his stomach growled, reminding him that he had not eaten and had left behind his food. He ignored his annoying hunger and thought of Misaki. His feelings for her were strong and believed it was love. His heart was beating rapidly, as if he had run a marathon, and he felt queasy in his stomach from Misaki's presence. The last time he had felt like this was with Amber, and he had thought she had been messing with his mind to get at his sister.

He wanted to hold her, kiss her, and take her out on a proper date, but it was impossible for them to be together. If they were seen together by the wrong people, Misaki's life and career would be over with, and he didn't want that for her.

Hei pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as he entered his room and walked into the room where Yin was sitting quietly. Her right hand lay in a bowl of water.

"I forgot our food, Yin," he said to her.

"I know, Hei, I saw," said Yin.

"Y—you saw? You saw the whole thing with Misaki and me?"

Yin nodded, and then said, "Gomen, I didn't think you would mind."

"It—it's all right. Wanna go and get something to eat?"

Yin sat still for a second before she nodded.

Misaki kept on wiping away her tears with her right arm, as she drove home. With her thoughts dwelling on Li she had difficulty driving through traffic. She had run a red light a few blocks back and nearly had caused an accident.

She had seen many situations, and held her composure in situations that would have made a grown man cry, but her feelings for Li were more than she could handle. He couldn't tell her his real name, but she believed she already knew, and it killed her dearly. What had happened to him in Hell's Gate to where he would say Li is dead?

Misaki pulled into her tight driveway, engaged the emergency break, and exited her vehicle. She uneasily walked into her apartment, clumsily entered the elevator, and headed up to her floor. Once there, Misaki miserably headed over to her room, entered it, and flopped onto her couch.

Her thoughts returned to Li of when they first met. He was just a Chinese man living in Japan, and then someone Misaki had to protect at Alice's party, but in fact Li had saved her by cutting the power on Alice. She giggled, as she remembered seeing him at the women's clothing store holding a bra, and then she and Kanami helping him pick out the right size.

Their date before Hell's Gate was pleasant, even though Li's thoughts were off in the distance, and she wished to return to that moment in time.

Before she knew it Misaki fell asleep.

Misaki's cell phone rang in her purse, waking her up. She slowly sat up while she stretched away her exhaustion. She grabbed her purse to pull out her phone and answered it, "Kirihara desu."

"_Misaki! HR123 is active around your work!" _shouted Kanami in her ear.

"Kanami?" questioned a drowsy Misaki. She then looked at the clock to see it was twelve o'clock at night. "Why are you telling me? Call Kouno so he can call for back up."

"_I've tried, but he's not answering his phone. I even called Ootsuka and the commander; no answer from them either. You're the only one I have been able to reach."_

Misaki frowned, knowing Kouno was probably at a bar hitting on women, and Ootsuka was reading her Manga or writing fan fictions. As for the commander, she had no idea why he wasn't answering his phone. Maybe he was fast asleep?

"Wakatta," said Misaki. "See if you can get a hold of someone to send back up."

"_All right. Be careful, Misaki," _Kanami pleaded.

Misaki walked over to a desk with pictures of her and her co-workers on it, opened the drawer, and pulled out her spare revolver. She loaded it, closed the barrel and rolled it. She tucked it into her purse and exited her room.

Misaki zipped through the city, her siren wailing to move motorist out of her way. She drifted around a hairpin corner, nearly side swiping a vehicle as she brought her Porsche under control, and floored the gas pedal, shifting through gears as quickly as her engine allowed her.

As she drove, Misaki figured HR123 decided to try and steal more of the files from the commander's computer. Misaki planned to catch the Contractor in the act to prove Saitou's innocence.

Within minutes she arrived at Head Quarters, she skidded sideways to a stop in front of it, and quickly exited her car to run into the department. She entered the elevator, hit the Foreign Affair's floor button, and readied her gun.

The lift doors opened. Misaki swiftly checked around her, making sure nobody was waiting for her, and then continued towards the commander's office. Nothing seemed out of place until she got closer and noticed someone in the office. As Misaki drew closer, she could tell it was Rikinaru.

"Don't move, Rikinaru!" ordered Misaki once she walked through the door.

Rikinaru looked up from the desk surprised. She then noticed the commander lying face down on the floor knocked out.

"Misaki, I'm glad you're here," he said. "The commander was stealing files. He's HR123. I caught him red handed just a few minutes ago and I was just checking to see what he was copying"

"The commander?" questioned Misaki.

"Hai," replied Rikinaru.

It didn't make sense. July would have looked around in the Foreign Affairs, and he wouldn't have quit gazing around until he had seen everyone present. Then it hit her. November Eleven had frozen part of HR123's face and had ripped part of his skin, which would have required major surgery. That would explain why July wouldn't have recognized him.

Misaki quickly pointed her gun at Rikinaru, surprising him.

"You're under arrest, Rikinaru."

"What's the deal, Section-Chief Kirihara?" he questioned.

"You're HR123," stated Misaki.

"That's absurd. I told you, it's the commander," smiled Rikinaru false heartedly.

"No, you're him. When I first met you, I noticed you had a slight accent, and it's not because you're from another part of this country, it's because Niho-jin isn't your naitive language. Also, the way you acted, talking about something and then saying it was only a joke; November Eleven had said that before. You remember him, right?"

"How can I forget him?" said Rikinaru, as he rubbed the right side of his face while his smile faded away. "Although I should thank him since I like this face."

"I'm guessing Saitou and the commander walked in while you were downloading files?"

"That's right, Section-Chief Kirihara."

"Put your hands up, Jake."

"Don't think so, love," stated Jake, as he said the last word in English.

His eyes burned red as his body glowed blue, informing Misaki he was about to use his power, which caused her finger to twitch and pull the trigger. He dodged the bullet as he ripped off the computer's power cord, transfigured it into a Japanese sword, and swung it at her head. Misaki stepped back to avoid it, moved to the right as he brought his sword downwards, and then she dodged to the left while he swung in an upward motion.

Misaki took a few steps back to get a good clean shot at Rikinaru, but she ended up tripping over the commander's body and fell on her bottom. Rikinaru grinned devilishly as he raised his sword over his head.

The last thing that came to Misaki's mind she uncontrollably blurred out, "Li-kun!"

Jake swung downwards, but surprisingly someone in a black trench coat jumped in between them, causing the sword to clank against a split double-edge blade. Misaki looked up lost for words at the man she had called out to.

"Holy crap, 201BK!" shouted Jake in English.

Jake jumped back for space and then glanced at the commander's desk. He grabbed a stapler to transfigure it into a knife and threw it at Li, who easily knocked it to the side with his blade. During that distraction HR123 had tried to run, but Li whipped out his cable line and wrapped it around his opponent's waist. The next thing that happened was Jake getting electrocuted.

Li turned around, showing his white mask, and removed it. He held out his hand, which she took, and let him lift her onto her feet.

"Are you alright, Misaki?" he asked looking into her eyes.

She nodded; fighting back her tears, but her feelings overtook her and cried while she embraced Li. Li wrapped his arms around Misaki, and laid his chin on her head, as her tears drenched his coat.

Misaki didn't know how long they stood there while she cried, but she hoped the man she was in love with would hold onto her for the rest of the night.

xxx

Misaki, wearing her work clothes, stood in the commander's office staring at him, as he looked through the file concerning HR123. After a quick scan, he threw it on his desk and stared up at her.

"Again, BK201 slipped through your grasp, Section-Chief Kirihara," stated the commander. "How?"

"Sir, I explained it in my report," replied Misaki.

"And I don't believe it. I don't believe you chased after him up to the roof, and then he went flying off on his cable line. I know you're an excellent shot and you could have snapped the line to make him fall, but you didn't take the shot because you had stated he was too far. In addition, why was he here to rescue you again? You're hiding something."

"Like you were hiding that you were suspicious Rikinaru was HR123."

"I was here last night because I figured HR123 would try for it again."

"So you agree with me that Saitou had nothing to do with stealing files."

"Don't overstep the line, Officer Kirihara."

Misaki stood silent from her commander's outburst, but then shook it off and asked, "What about HR123?"

"He's being held."

"So did you call me here to fire me?"

Yamato leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips while he stared at her miserably.

"I would like nothing more than to fire you since I don't trust your devotion to this department," he stated. He stayed quiet for a few seconds before continuing. "Unfortunately your father demanded to my superiors that I pull my men off your case and reinstate you."

"O—Otosan?" questioned Misaki.

"You should be lucky to have someone in the hire-ups, Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki."

"Sir, I don't need my father to protect me."

"I quite agree, but politics is the problem here. Now, take your stuff back."

The commander pulled out Misaki's gun and badge and laid it on the table. She picked it up, exited the office, and then found her comrades standing before her smiling. Saitou stepped before everyone looking sheepish.

"Thank you for believing in me, Chief," stated Saitou.

"Who would believe you're a traitor, Saitou?" responded Kouno. "You're too stupid."

"Kouno!" shouted Ootsuka, as she punched him in the arm.

Saitou chuckled. Misaki smiled at him, and then gave him a hug. When she pulled away, Misaki noticed Saitou was blushing.

xxx

Hiro was sitting on a bench near the Meji Shrine with the sun shining through the trees, as he fed the birds that had gathered around him. A man in ragged brown clothes sat next to him trying to look inconspicuous.

"Do you have the file?" asked the ragged man.

"I do, but it's not much," replied Hiro, slipping the Portable USB Drive over to where no one could see.

"Is the powers we seek on it?"

"Have no clue; although I have news from Hourai that I'm sure isn't on that file. The Syndicate already knows this, but it seems BK201 and Officer Kirihara like each other."

"What a load of garbage. Everyone knows Contractors don't act on emotions."

"Ah, but it seems BK201 does."

"Whatever, it doesn't matter. All the American Embassy wants is to know how to harness a Contractor's power."

"Oh, I forgot you Americans only care for power, even if it means to sacrifice seeing the stars and moon again."

"Imagine being able to travel back in time or into the future, transfigure metal into gold, teleport anywhere around the world, blow something up with just your fingertips, or harness the power of electricity without paying for it."

"You're insane."

"Aren't you for helping us?" challenged the ragged man.

"I'm in it for the money," replied Hiro. "And I got some news that'll make the Embassy want to double my pay."

Hiro told him what the Syndicate had told him about the solar machine.

"Really? That explains their hurry to get things fixed."

"What's the Embassy going to do about HR123?"

"Don't worry about that. What's the deal with Commander Kirihara Naoyasu?"

"Still loyal to the Syndicate."

"Do you think it was wise to let Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki have her badge back?"

"Yes, the Syndicate thinks she'll lead us right to BK201, and I do too. The only problem is the commander. He's too much into serve and protect so we can't swing him our way."

"So why hire him as the commander?"

"We had no control since it was the public who chose whom they wanted."

"Tsk, whatever, I'm out of here. Later."

The ragged man stood from the bench and scattered the birds as he walked in their wake. Hiro narrowed his eyes at the ragged man's disrespect for Mother Nature, but shrugged it off once the birds returned.

xxx

Hei sat on the windowsill, allowing the wind to whip at his hair, as his thoughts drifted off about Misaki. His feelings for her were overwhelming, and for the first time before Heaven's Gate had disappeared, Hei had had a dream last night about her.

It was a pleasant dream, them living together in her apartment as a normal couple with a dog, and surprisingly a child. He had cursed to himself when he had woken up to find out it was only a dream, but it had felt so real.

He sighed and stared out at the cluttered city, wondering what Misaki was doing, and hoped he would see her again.

xxx

Japanese words:

Joudan desu: Just joking

Otosan: Father

Iie: No


	5. Chapter 5

Darker than Black

Darker than Black

Chapter 5: The Pink girl's Jealous Rage

Kurasawa Gai leaned back in his office while smoking a cigarette with the windows closed, creating a smog-infested environment. A train roaring by rattled his things on his desk, which he ignored due to boredom. It was one in the afternoon and he had no customers yet. He hadn't had any customers in two weeks. Anything from someone reading names in a phone book, to a kid doing an idiotic thing on the internet would be entertainment for him; even listening to Kiko complain about not stalking Li as he ate was a welcome.

She had been driving him crazy about Li since he had disappeared, and Kirsi had also gone missing from the cigarette store. Kiko had wanted to investigate where they had gone to, but Gai had demanded her week's paycheck if she did, giving him a sore foot in the process.

A knock came from the door.

Gai looked towards it and said, "It's open."

The door slowly creaked open, revealing an hourglass-figured woman with auburn hair and light blue eyes entering. She wore a tight red dress, black silky nylons, black high heels, and long black leather gloves.

Gai's eyes widened, as his mouth fell open with his cigarette slipping from it and falling onto the ground. His attention was fixated on her that he didn't realize he was leaning too far back in his chair and fell backwards. He stood quickly while laughing in embarrassment, and set his chair on all fours to sit down.

"What… what can I do you with, er, I mean, what can I do for you?" he chuckled.

"Well, ah, isn't it kind of smoky in here?" the woman in red said, as she waved her right hand around.

Gai was startled from her comment, and then quickly opened a window, his yellow stained teeth showing as he smiled sheepishly, and blew out the smog with a small cordless fan he had pulled out of nowhere. After airing out his office, Gai returned to his chair and gestured for her to sit on the couch. She did, as he placed his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together.

"Now when can I do…? I mean… what can I do you for?" smiled Gai.

"I'm looking for my fiancé," she replied.

Gai's eyes bulged white as his bottom chin smashed onto his desk.

"Fi—fiancé?" he muttered.

"Hai. He ran off and left me on our wedding day. Here's a picture of him."

Gai straightened his composure and took the picture with both hands, and prayed the guy had a distorted face. He looked down at it, and then shock overwhelmed him as he recognized the big eater Kiko had stalked.

"Li? Li-kun's your fiancé?" he asked.

"You know him?" asked the woman in red. "Where is he?"

"Dunno. He disappeared a few months back. He probably had a debt to pay at one of the ramen places he eats at, and decided to run so he wouldn't have to pay."

"Could you help find him for me?"

The woman in red stood from the couch and walked over to Gai's desk to lean over it with her a few centimeters away. His face turned red as he looked down to examine her chest area and blushed even more while smiling with glee.

A warm feeling began to run through his body and believed the woman had aroused his insides. The sensation was pleasing, which made him want to cuddle next to the woman in red, but suddenly it began to burn his right leg. He looked down at it and realized his pant leg was engulfed in flames from the cigarette he had dropped. Gai jumped out of his seat screaming, and began prancing around the room to try and smother out the flame, but it did no good. He noticed a water bottle left on his desk by Kiko, grabbed it, and dumped the water on his scorching leg.

He laughed it off and returned to his seat quickly, looking serious at her.

"I'll find Li with no problem," promised Gai. "Eh, what's your name, Miss?"

"Quin Wang."

"Wang-san, leave finding your fiancé to me."

"Arigatou, Gai-san."

Quin gave him a quick peck on the cheek, causing him to turn burnt red. She straightened out her posture and sexually exited the office. Gai leaned back in his chair to lace his fingers behind his head, smiling happily as images of her swirled in his brain, and then fell backwards again.

"Ouch!" he muttered, sitting awkwardly.

His door opened with Kiko waltzing into the room slumped over looking depressed, and sat down on the couch.

"Ah, man, he wasn't there again!" moaned Kiko. "What is a stalker good for if the person she is suppose to stalk isn't anywhere around?"

Kiko's nose twitched from something in the air, and then frowned.

"What smells like burnt hair? Uh, what happened to you?" Kiko finally noticed Gai's uncomfortable sitting position. "And why is your pant leg all… Oh, that's where the smell's coming from."

Gai frowned at her. He then quickly stood to reset his chair.

"Nani?" questioned Kiko, as she looked at Gai closely. "Is that lipstick on your cheek?"

"But of course," replied Gai, as he closed his eyes while pointing his nose upwards in pride and straightening his tie. "While you were out goofing around, a beautiful young woman came in and hired me to find her fiancé. She even gave me a kiss for taking the case."

Kiko narrowed her eyes at him, as she slumped her head down, and examined him for a few seconds, making Gai feel a little uncomfortable and frowned at her as sweat dripped down the left side of his face.

"So, she's the reason why you burnt your pants, probably with one of those smelly cigarettes, and then sometime after that you fell on your head because you were having naughty thoughts," she stated. "She's also probably the reason why the window's open to let in fresh air."

"Tsk, shut up!" barked Gai, but then smiled gleefully at her. She pursed her lips at him while curiously tilting her head. "I happened to have a picture of her fiancé, and I bet a month's paycheck you'll be upset to see who it is."

Kiko huffed while turning her head sideways and said, "Why would I care about her fiancé when I have Li-san."

Gai reached into his pocket, but then realized it wasn't in there, and remembered he had left it on the table. He grabbed the picture and handed it to Kiko. She looked down at the still image, and then her mouth fell to her knees as her eyes widened and turned pitch white.

"Told ya," Gai smiled, as he grabbed the sides of his trench coat and stared upwards in pride again. "Looks like you're not buying any of those Mangas for…."

Kiko bolted from the couch, jumped onto Gai with her legs pressed on his waist, and her arms holding onto his vest.

"Uso!" she barked, shaking him violently back and forth, giving him whiplash. "liar, liar, liar! She just wants to stalk him!"

"Please, stop, Kiko, I think you snapped my neck!" gurgled Gai, as foam seeped from his mouth.

Kiko jumped off of Gai, causing him to fall flat on his back and stare up at nothing particularly, as she raised her fist and stood with firing pride to say, "I will not come in second place to that woman, and I swear to find Li-san first!"

Kiko bolted out of the office, slamming the door behind her to cause a plaque to fall and break. Gai lay motionless while grunting on the floor with his hands slightly sticking up, and his eyes swirling around from dizziness.

xxx

Gai, wearing his tan trench coat and hat, went over to Mizukiso apartment where Li had used to live to talk with the Landlady, Misuzu Oyama.

"Li-kun?" she questioned while outside helping her husband water the plants. "Li-kun was deported back to China?"

"There's evidence he didn't go back," Gai informed. "So you haven't seen him for five months now?"

"Not a sight, even though my husband and I don't go out much."

"Do you know if anyone here has seen him?"

"I don't think so, but you can ask."

Gai bowed his thanks and went to talk with the residence. He knocked on one of the doors, and blushed at the site of a red head girl, but then coughed it aside to act more mature.

"Good afternoon, Miss," he started with. "I am Detective Kurasawa Gai and I am doing an investigation on where Li is, and I was wondering if you've heard anything from him in the past five months?"

"Heard from Li?" she questioned. "No."

"Really." Gai pulled out one of his cards and gave it to her. "Well, if you do hear from him, please call me. Eh, you can call me whenever you want in fact." He blushed.

Gai bowed, as the girl frowned, slamming the door in his face. He moved over to the next room, knocked on the door, which a chubby man opened it moments later, and was nearly blown away by an ear-blowing keynote by an electrical guitar. The chubby man and a rocker guy, who caused hearing loss for Gai, told him the same thing. A tall dark-skinned man just merely shook or nodded his head at Gai's questions.

Gai sighed as he entered the Home Run House where Li had eaten and walked over to the cook.

"Oh, you're the detective who was asking about when's the last time we saw the stars," the cook said. "To bad that didn't matter since we still have the fake ones." He giggled.

Gai pursed his lips and narrowed his eyes at the man.

"I came by to ask if you or your daughter have heard from Li lately?" he asked.

"Li? No, and neither has Rika. I figured that pink girl who was in here stalking him would have told you that?"

"I figured Li knew she was stalking him and decided to come at a different time of the day."

"Sorry, detective, but no."

"Ah, arigatou."

Gai exited the store and began walking down the sidewalk while he lit a cigarette, wondering who else knew Li. Suddenly, like a bolt of lightning had struck his brain, it came to him. The woman Kiko had been jealous of five months ago was a detective too, and figured she worked at the police department in Shibuya. He thought that maybe she had heard from Li.

He headed towards the closest JR line station. As he got a few blocks away, a chubby cat jumped out of a tree, scaring Gai to death, which caused him to stumble backwards to trip into a pile of garbage, and lose his cigarette. The cat glanced and hissed at him, making his skin crawl and turn an ill color, and clenched his teeth in fright while sweat poured down his forehead. The cat looked away and ran off.

"Creepy little Neko, scaring me like that," bellowed Gai, as he stood from the foul stench.

He continued his walk; not realizing a fire had started by his cigarette, as he lit another one and crossed the crowded streets to reach his destination. Before entering the station, he put out his cigarette, and placed it behind his ear. Gai walked into the packed station and fought his way towards the ticket machine. Once he reached one, he fiddled with change in his pocket, paid the machine the ticket he needed, and stepped through one of the gates. Gai ascended the stairs with the sign Shibuya above him and waited on the platform for the next train.

Within minutes it pulled into the station and came to a halt. Even though it was two in the afternoon the train was still packed. Gai stepped onto the train to see the entire seats were taken and frowned while taking hold of a vertical pole near the door. He braced himself while the train pulled out of the station, and steadied his balance when it reached its speed. It bobbled, jolted, and made clicking noises from the metal wheels striking the track's joining seams, as it raced through the cluttered city.

Out the right side of the windows was a four-story blaze in an alley nearby. Fire trucks, sirens unheard by the train's occupants, came barreling onto the scene. The firemen jumped out of the truck and began to try and put out the flames before it could burn the buildings.

"Kids these days, starting fires," muttered Gai.

The JR pulled into the Shibuya station and opened its doors, allowing its passengers to exit. Gai fought his way off it, walked over to descend the stairs, and headed towards the police station.

Once there, he frowned at it since it was the last place he wanted to be. He shrugged off his discomfort and entered the building. Gai noticed the place had changed a little in décor since the last time he was here. He walked over to the information desk where a bulky man stood waiting.

"May I help you, sir?" the bulky man asked.

"Hai, I would like to speak with a detective who I think works here," informed Gai. "Her name is Kirihara Misaki."

"And what is your business with her, sir?"

"I wish to ask her a few questions about a guy named Li."

"Hold on one second, sir." The man picked up a phone, dialed a number, and placed it to his right ear. "Officer Kirihara," he said moments later, "there's a guy here that wishes to speak with you about a man named Li." There was a long pause. "All right. Fourth floor." The man said to Gai, as he hung up the phone.

Gai stepped onto the elevator, rode it up to the fourth floor, and exited to a massive group of people roaming around or typing away at computers. He recognized Misaki sitting at a desk across from a big man, and approached her while straightening his tie to look as formal as possible.

"Detective Kirihara Misaki," he said, as he stopped beside her. She looked up at him blinking while the big man glanced his way. "I'm…"

"Detective Kurasawa Gai," she said cutting him off. "Your real name is Matsukichi Gai who once was a police officer, but quit the force to start your own detective agency."

Gai pursed his lips and stared at her skeptically.

"You found out all that information from the time I rode the elevator up?" he asked impressed.

"No, I gathered the information months ago just incase Li returned and asked where you lived so he could get the money you owe him." Misaki commented to Gai, which caused him to sweat bullets. "Saitou, can you leave us for a bit?" She turned to say to her partner.

"Hai," replied Saitou, as he stood and left.

Misaki gestured for Gai to sit across from her and asked, "What is it that you want to talk about that concerns Li, Kurasawa-san?"

"Please, call me Gai, Misaki," requested Gai. Misaki nodded. "Eh, I was wondering if you have heard from Li-kun lately."

He noticed Misaki fidget slightly from his comment.

"No," she replied, but Gai believed he heard insincerity in her voice. "Last I have heard of him was that he had to return to China. Why do you ask; want to pay him the money you owe?"

"No, I was hired by someone to find him."

"Hired to find him?" Misaki narrowed her eyes at him while titling her head slightly. "By whom, may I ask?"

Gai tilted his head down, as he kept his eyes on hers.

"His fiancé."

Misaki jolted back, awing as her eyes widened and mouth dropped open from shock.

"Fi… fian… fiancé?" Misaki said skeptically. "Li never said anything to me about a fiancé?"

"It appears he does, and he had left her."

Misaki looked down sideways at the floor while crossing her arms in front of her. She gripped her clothes tightly, which Gai believed that she was fighting with her emotions. She looked up at him again, but her eyes drifted down to stare at her desk.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, Misaki," Gai apologized. "I'm just trying to do my job."

"It's all right, Gai," assured Misaki. She then looked back at him. "I'm sorry, but I haven't heard from him since our last encounter."

Gai held her stare to see if she might be lying again, but he could tell there was truth behind them.

"All right, but if you do hear from him again, please call me," Gai caved in, as he handed her his card. He stood, as did Misaki, and shook her hand. "Arigatou, Kirhara-san."

"You're welcome," replied Misaki.

Gai entered the elevator, descended to the lobby, and exited the building. As he walked towards the station Gai thought about Misaki. She felt uncomfortable whenever he had said Li's name, and her body had tensed when he had mentioned about Li's fiancé. He believed she knew where Li was. Gai knew that Misaki was going to warn him about Wang-san after she got off work, which made him decide to tail her tonight.

He fiddled for some money and realized he only had fifty yen, which was not enough for a train ticket. He cursed to himself while lighting his half smoked cigarette, and headed towards his office on foot.

Unfortunately he had gotten lost.

After spending two hours trying to find out where he was, Gai started getting hungry, and saw a ramen restaurant. As he was about to enter the store, Li exited it with Kirsi.

"Li-kun!" he shouted.

Li looked at him peculiarly, and then nearly fell backwards in shock.

**Darker than Black**

Gai narrowed his eyes at Li, and said, "It's been a while, Li-kun."

"It… it has," replied Li. "Come to find me so you can pay me back what you owe?"

Gai nearly fell over and lost his cigarette from Li's comment, but he caught himself and coughed aside his tension.

"No, I was hired by your fiancé to find you."

"My fiancé?" questioned Li peculiarly. "I don't have a fiancé."

"Don't try to pull a fast one on me, she had a picture of you, but I see you like to play around with women's heart. First you skipped out on Quin-san, then Kirihara-san, and now you're flaunting around with Kirsi."

"Yin and I aren't seeing each other," replied Li.

"Then why are you with Kirsi and not Quin-san."

"Quin is supposed to be my fiancé, right. I don't know anybody by that name. I've only been with one woman."

"Misaki?"

"No, the situation between Misaki and I are… complicated." Li hesitated to say.

"Even if things are complicated, doesn't mean you can drop out of their lives, Li."

Li's eyes widen as his mouth fell open from Gai's comment, and then looked down at the ground. After a few seconds of silence, Li looked back at Gai.

"Arigatou, Gai," he said.

Gai was startled at Li's praise.

"So, you plan on returning to Quin and marrying her?" he asked victoriously.

"No, like I had said, I have no fiancé," replied Li.

Gai stared flabbergasted, as Li and Kirsi walked off and turned a corner. He shook off the surprise he displayed, and ran after them. When he skidded around the corner there was nobody present. He remembered one of his first encounters with the man and his quick disappearing acts.

_What is he, some kind of magician? _Gai thought to himself.

Gai had found out he was in the Shinjuku district, and had returned to his office safely. He had called Quin a few minutes ago, asking for her to come in, and he waited for her to arrive while smoking a cigarette with the window open and a fan blowing.

A knock came from his door.

Gai straightened in his seat while putting out the cigarette and waving at the air, and shouted, "Come in!"

The red-haired woman entered, wearing a silky green dress this time. Gai squirmed in his seat to get a little more comfortable, and wondered why Li could leave a hot broad like her?

_Maybe because he thought she was too much of a woman for him. _Gai said to himself.

She sat in front of him. Gai coughed away the smile that had crept onto his face.

"I found your fiancé, but I wasn't able to locate where he lives," said Gai. "He was eating at a ramen store in Shinjuku."

"Oh, really, that's more than I need to know," said Quin.

"Nani? Madam, give me more time and I will be able to locate…"

"It's quite alright, I'll be able to find him just on that."

Quin pulled out a small booklet to write on it, ripped out a page, and handed it to Gai. He took the paper and saw it was a check for 100,000,000 yens, causing Gai's eyes to light up as if the Holidays had come early. He would be able to pay off his debts and have tons of money left over.

Before he could thank her, she stood from the chair and exited the office.

Gai leaned back in his chair and continued smoking his cigarette gleefully. He reminded himself to by a Cubin cigar with the money he had received.

Moments later Kiko entered the office looking depressed again.

"Let me guess, no luck," said Gai to Kiko

"Hai," she moaned while flopping on the couch. "I checked every ramen store from Meguro to Yoyogi and no luck."

"I thought as much." Gai smirked.

Kiko narrowed her eyes at him and said, "And what makes you think that?"

"Because I was able to find him."

Kiko quickly jumped from the couch and ran to his side shouting, "LIAR!"

"Nope, not lying."

"Someone like you couldn't find him unless you got lost and accidentally ran across him."

"Ah, shut up! Anyway, I told our customer where he is, and she gave us this." Gai showed Kiko the check

Surprisingly, her eyes widened while she screamed, "HEH! 100,000,000 YENS!" Gai snatched it from her, causing Kiko to narrow her eyes at him. "Don't think about spending it on nonsense stuff. I gotta get out of here and find Li before she does."

Kiko turned to run out the door.

"Oh, and by the way," spoke up Gai, stopping Kiko in her tracks. "I also found your friend, Kirsi."

"Really?" questioned Kiko. "I can't believe someone with your luck could find two missing people in one day?"

Gai frowned at her, but smiled while he pointed his nose in the air and said, "She was with Li-kun."

Kiko's mouth dropped to the floor like a ton of weight, as her body went white as a ghost.

"It looks like she took your idea and won him over." Gai laid on. "Li tried to say they weren't a couple, but I could tell he was lying."

Kiko's face burned with fury and glared at Gai saying, "Where?"

"Not telling."

She slammed her heel on his foot, causing him to scream and hop around the office.

"Do… ko… de… su… ka?" she growled, readying to stomp on his other foot.

"All right; a ramen store in Shinjuku!" he pleaded.

Kiko ran out the door and slammed it, causing another plaque to fall and crash. Gai sat down at his desk, pulled off his shoe, and started rubbing it.

"Stupid flat-chested girl," Gai muttered.

Kiko jumped onto the JR line heading towards Shinjuku. As she rode it her mind swirled with betrayal from Yin stabbing her in the back at secretly stalking Li, and then stealing him from her. Kiko couldn't forgive Yin and made sure to steal Li back.

Before she knew it the JR line pulled into Shinjuku, which Kiko bolted from the train and ran to the ramen stores she knew of to see if Yin was with Li.

Suddenly, someone wrapped his or her hand around Kiko's mouth, pulled her around a corner, and shoved her against the wall. It was a short bald man that had no nose, standing before two other people who were in the shadows.

"Who are you?" asked one of the shadow figures, sounding feminine.

The man removed his hand to let Kiko speak.

"Kiko desu," she said. "I work for Gai who is a private detective."

"You work for that idiot?" the woman asked.

"Hai?" questioned Kiko curiously.

"Not anymore. Kill her so we can continue looking for BK201."

The bald man's eyes glowed a bloody red color, indicating he was a Contractor that everyone was talking about. A saw-like disk appeared over his right hand, and drew it back to throw it, but a split double-edged knife impaled his arm.

Kiko looked to where the knife was thrown and saw a man in a black trench coat standing a few yards down from them. He wore a white mask with a purple lighting bolt down its right eye.

"No way!" Kiko surprisingly said. "You're supposed to be a fictional character?"

"BK201!" shouted the woman. "Kill him!"

The other shadow figure's eyes turned red, as his body outlined in blue, showing he had blond spiky hair and blue eyes. He placed his palms together, moved them to his right side in which a blue ball formed, and then threw it at the masked man. The masked man threw his line upward, hooked onto something, and flew into the sky to land on top of the roof.

"Krillin, Gokou, go get him!" the woman demanded.

"All right, Bulma," they said.

The men climbed up the walls, gripping where they could and disappeared up top.

"And now to finish you," said the woman, as she glowed blue.

Suddenly, the alley seemed abstract, as if the city of Tokyo had flipped on its side. Unexpectedly, the black man swung down from a roof, and kicked into the woman, straightening everything.

A hand suddenly wrapped around Kiko's wrist, which caused her to see whom the person was, and nearly jumped out of her shoes as she stared into Yin's sightless eyes.

"We need to run," she said calmly.

"Yin?" questioned Kiko.

Yin pulled on her arm and guided her out of the alley. As they rounded the corner an electrical sound came from behind them, making Kiko look back but saw nothing.

After running two blocks Kiko stopped Yin and made her turn around.

"Wait one second, Yin," demanded Kiko out of breath. "You owe me an explanation about this whole ordeal.

Yin stood still for a second before glancing at Kiko, as sounds of explosions and something plowing into another thing went on.

"All right," replied Yin. "Those people were after me and that masked man saved me," said Yin. "They work for the Syndicate, who Hei and I worked for, now they want us dead."

"Not that! I'm talking about you stalking Li behind my back and stealing him from me?" Kiko stomped her foot on the ground.

Yin stood quiet for a few seconds before answering with, "I didn't steal him, Kiko."

"Liar! Gai saw you walking out of a ramen store with him!"

Yin closed her eyes while shaking her head and said, "It's not what you think, Kiko." Yin opened her eyes. "I've known him for a while. Sorry, I can't explain it."

"What? You've known him and you never introduced him to me!"

"Sorry, but what would a stalker be if he or she were introduced?"

Kiko pointed her right index finger upwards and opened her mouth to say something, but a cat had caught her tongue from Yin's comment.

"You're right," she said, as she crossed her arms and nodded her head.

"Sorry, Kiko, but I must be going. Sayonara."

Yin started to head off.

"Wait a minute, Yin, where are you going!" called out Kiko.

Yin stopped and glanced over her shoulder.

"Sorry, but I can't say that either."

"Why? We are still friends, right?"

Yin nodded as she pushed the right side of her lip up in a smile. She then began running off and turning a corner.

Kiko stared watching her until she disappeared, and smiled gleefully while clapping her hands together.

"Gai got it wrong; Li and Yin are not a couple," commented Kiko to no one in particular. "How lucky am I?" She then clenched her right fist and flecked her arm. "Yosh, I won't give up on finding Li so I can continue stalking him."

xxx

Yin stopped running and waited for Hei to meet up with her. She had been watching him since her foot had been standing in a puddle while talking to Kiko. The three Contractors were having a tough time with Hei and they decided to run off.

Yin watched him run on top of the buildings, and then jumped off one to land next to her.

"We're not safe here anymore," stated Hei. "We have to gather our stuff and move."

"Hai," replied Yin.

xxx

The three Contractors that had been fighting BK201 entered a hideout exhausted and bruised. The woman took off her red-haired wig to show she had blue hair instead.

"You idiots let him get away!" she shouted.

"Sorry, Bulma, but he's tougher than he looks," said Krillin.

"I was so scared it made me excited!" spoke up Gokou.

"So what now? You know BK201 is going to move, and I don't think that that idiot detective can get lucky and find where he's hiding a second time?"

"You two underestimate me and my ability with devices," stated Bulma. They looked at her oddly. She pulled out a small rounded device that looked to be some sort of radar. She clicked a button at the top and a dozen lights started blinking. "I can find any Doll with this thing."

"Wow, Bulma!" chimed Gokou. "So which one is that Yin girl?"

"Eh, well, that's the problem. I don't know so we have to check all of them?"

Gokou and Krillin plopped on the ground backwards, shaking the room.

Bulma laughed, as her companions stood to look at her displeased. After her little chuckle, Krillin lay on his stomach and started doing push ups, as Gokou walked over to the fridge to open it. He pulled out tons of food, and started chewing them down as quickly as possible. Bulma started tinkering with a computer.

xxx

Kiko barged into her room, turned on her computer, and saw Ootsuka was online. She smiled to herself and sent a message that she had seen her black masked fictional character.

_No way! _Kiko read from her friend. _Where?_

Kiko typed in the answer.

_Shinjuku? There was a fight there with 4 Contractors! _Ootsuka wrote back.

Kiko replied that she was there and was saved by the masked man.

_He did? Wow, Kiko. Did you talk with him?_

Kiko wrote back no.

I still can't forget meeting him 3 months ago. I thought it was all a dream. I was so flabbergasted.

Japanese Translations

Itai: Ouch

Uso: Lie

Go_men na sa_i: I'm sorry.

Yosh: Right

Iie: No


	6. Chapter 6

Darker than Black

Chapter six: JR Line Duel

Nine years ago:

Matsukichi Gai sat at his desk in the police department's new building, staring at nothing with an unlit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Other detectives were answering their phones, typing away on the computers, or scrambling desk to desk with folders in their arms.

The year had been hectic after something had struck Tokyo almost a year ago. Many strange things had started happening all over the world a few months later, but things were calming down. A month later, engineers began to build a wall around the area where the explosion had occurred, which Kuno had commented that Real Estate taxes was going to shoot up through the roof. Gai had a theory that terrorist were the cause of the explosion in Tokyo.

Certain men and women had been picked for a new unit called the Foreign Affairs, which Gai figured that the new department was some sort of anti-terrorist group. He had signed up for it, but he was denied the transfer, making him figure the higher ups were picking certain people to sit on their butts all day.

"Detective Matsukichi!" shouted Hourai from his office door. "In here, now!"

Gai stood from his seat and scrambled over to enter Hourai's office.

"What is it, sir?" he asked.

"Your work, Detective. Ten cases you've worked on since getting that badge to replace lost officers, and all of them have no proof to back up what you stated in your report."

"Sir, I don't see why I need evidence to prove my cases?" shrugged Gai.

"So we don't allow criminals to go free like all your suspects have! You best shape up and start collecting evidence to prove your cases, Detective."

"If that's the case, sir, I quit."

Hourai stared at him baffled at Gai.

"You're joking right?" he asked.

"No."

Gai took out his badge and gun and placed them on the table before Hourai.

"And what will you do to support yourself, work at McDoness?" asked Hourai

"I'm going to start my own Private Eye business and prove to you I don't need evidence to solve a case," replied Gai.

"Are you serious?"

"Hai."

Without another word, he walked out of the office and headed for the elevator. His former colleagues looked at him baffled, as Isozaki asked, "Where you going, Gai?"

"Quiting," replied Gai.

As he reached the elevator, Kuno stormed over to him to grab him by the collar, and pulled him to his face.

"What in hell's name are you quitting for, Gai?" he shouted.

Gai didn't like the chubby man. He was a hothead who would chew you out for the slightest things, and he was always getting an earful from him. Gai told him what he had said to Hourai.

"Eh?" questioned Kuno. "You really think you can solve a case like that? Baka! And you quitting will leave us in a major pinch since we lost all those detectives in that explosion!"

"Oi, Kuno, stop!" demanded Isozaki.

"No! The little nincompoop just can't leave us in a dire situation," Kuno said to his partner.

"KUNO!" shouted Hourai. "Let him go!"

Kuno turned to face his commander frowning, but did what he was told. Gai straightened his suit and hit the elevator's down button. It chimed on his floor and the door opened to reveal a short and slumped aging man, wearing a blue suit.

"Oh, Commander Kirihara," said Gai.

"Detective Matsukichi, going to solve a case?"

"No, I quit, sir."

"Quit?" Kirihara's eyes slanted in question. "Whatever for?" Gai retold the story, which Kirihara smiled at Gai's comment and said, "I hate to lose your sense of humor, Detective Matsukichi."

Kirihara Naoyasu bowed goodbye, walked over to Hourai's office, and entered it to bow again before taking a seat. They began to chat amongst each other, making Gai wonder what they were talking about, and thought they were probably discussing about last night's baseball game.

"How is your daughter doing, Naoyasu?" asked Hourai.

"Fine, Hourai," replied Kirihara. "But she's not why I'm here. I've come to offer you the head position of the Foreign Affairs."

"Me? Why?"

"I need someone like you to do what I demand without questions."

"All right, but what are the Foreign Affairs anyway?"

Kirihara looked over his shoulder to make sure they were alone, and then turned his gaze at Hourai to say, "You've heard rumors of super human beings, right? Well, they're real and we hunt them down."

"Really? It is real?"

"Hai, and there's more. I answer to a higher authority, and they tell me what to do or not to do. If we catch super humans called Contractors, and they tell us to kill them and make it look like an accident, that's what we do."

"And if I refuse your offer?"

"You won't remember anything except you asking me about my daughter," smiled Naoyasu.

Present:

Gai entered a brightly lit cluttered bank and walked up to the counter where a plump lady, wearing too much make-up and perfume, waited. He smiled gleefully while sliding the check under the bulletproof window to her. She looked down at it and almost had a heart attack.

"I would like that in thousands, please," said Gai.

"Ah, hai," said the cashier. "Let me go take care of this in the back."

"All right."

She walked off. Gai thought about flying to Hawaii to continue his private eye business there, lie on the beach after hours with a Margarita in his right hand, and a beautiful Hawaiian girl wrapped around his left arm. He then thought about putting Kiko on a one-way trip to Siberia so she wouldn't ruin his dream.

While living in Hawaii, he would buy himself an American car, probably a Dodge Viper, and cruise around the Interstate freeway with his lovely girl next to him. He would go to nightclubs to dance the night away, and do many other things after hours behind closed doors.

He blushed at the thought.

"Sir… SIR!" someone shouted.

Gai was jolted out of his thoughts to see the plump lady was standing before him, looking at him upset.

"Sorry, I was daydreaming," he stated. "Eh, where's my money?"

"About that, sir, I'm sorry to tell you the check bounced," said the cashier.

Gai stared blankly at the woman, as he comprehended what she had said, and then his feature turned into the Scream painting. Suddenly, his dream came crashing down, as if a flat-chested girl had taken a sledgehammer and smashed it to bits.

"No way!" shouted Gai. "YOU DID TRY IT A SECOND TIME, RIGHT?"

"Unfortunately, we didn't need to since the bank we called doesn't have a customer by that name," informed the cashier, and then ripped the check into little pieces.

Gai imagined the ripped papers as his Cuban cigar; a plane ticket to Hawaii, the beautiful Hawaiian girl, and his Dodge Viper falling before him while he heard Kiko's voice laughing devilishly in his ears.

It had to be a dream; he was dreaming.

Gai pinched his arm, as if he was turning an ignition key, hoping to wake up, but he instead screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone glanced in his direction. He looked around the confined bank, smiled in embarrassment while scratching his head, and ran out the door.

As he walked back to his office smoking a cigarette, he wondered why the check had bounced. Was it because the woman had signed her name wrong, or was it an old account? Once Gai arrived at his place, he picked up his phone, dialed the number Quin had left, and waited for an answer.

"_We're sorry, but this number has been disconnected," _said a recording.

Gai pulled his ear away from the phone and looked at it shocked. How could it be already disconnected when he had used it yesterday? Maybe Quin forgot to pay her bills?

Kiko walked in looking cheerfully, dampening Gai's day even more, and wondered why she was ecstatic? Probably because of the check, which would rid her of any joy she felt.

She stood before the couch, turned three hundred-sixty degrees on her left heel, whipping her ponytails around with her arms stuck out, and then flopped onto the couch.

"Ah, what a beautiful day, isn't it, Gai?" Kiko merrily said.

"No, horrible," he replied miserably, hoping to irritate her.

Unfortunately, a semi truck running her over wouldn't have fazed Kiko. She seemed to have ignored Gai's comment since she was lost in her own little world, which Gai believed it only contained her anime stuff and Li-kun.

"Oh, I wonder what Li-san is doing at this moment?" Kiko said to herself.

"If his fiancé had found him; probably telling her why he had left her, and why he is with your friend, Kirsi."

Kiko didn't respond to Gai's comment, as an image seemed to surface in her brain that made her blush and giggle. Irritated from her joyful mood, Gai picked up a stapler and threw it to smack her in the head. Her head arced back as far as possible without snapping, and then sprung forward with a devilish look and a stapler imprint embedded in her skull.

"What was that for?" she growled like a cat, making Gai freak out.

"Ah, well," he stuttered, wishing he hadn't done that. "I have something to tell you, Kiko."

"And does hitting my head with a stapler have anything to do with it?"

"Ah, well, you were spaced out and, well…" Gai coughed his nerves to the side. "It's about the check."

Kiko's demented mood diminished and asked, "You cashed it already? Please tell me you didn't spend it on cigarettes?"

"No, I didn't cash it," began Gai. "The thing is; the cashier lady ripped it up."

"NANI?" Kiko's scream was louder than the trains that continuously pass by, shaking his office worse than before. "WHY THE HELL WOULD SHE DO SUCH A THING LIKE THAT?"

"Well, you see, the check bounced."

Kiko's face returned to her demented state, as a burning aura flowed from her like an anime character. Gai seeped down into his chair as far as possible for safety, but not even shooting a scud missile at her could save him.

"You try calling her?"

Gai nodded and told her what had happened.

"So, she was a stalker after all! Curse her for being a fraud since I had planned on using my half of the money to marry Li-san!" stated Kiko.

"Like that's going to help since he's with Kirsi," stated Gai, as he felt more comfortable and sat straight to lean back.

Unfortunately, he wasn't since Kiko slid over to him, placed her right foot under the chair's front left leg, and lifted her leg up to tip Gai over. He swung his arms frantically to keep his balance, and then grabbed the desk with his right hand. Unfortunately, he snatched a folder that made his hand slip and fell backwards on his head.

"B—b—baka!" he screamed upside down. "What was that for?"

"I'll have you know I saw Yin last night, and she had said her and Li aren't dating," Kiko growled. "They've known each other for a while and that's why they were coming out of the ramen store together."

"Really?" commented Gai skeptically. He then stood to straighten his chair and continued to say, "How long?"

"She couldn't say." Kiko said calmly after releasing her rage.

"And you accepted that? Ba… ka!"

Kiko went to go step on his foot, but missed as he moved it quickly and stuck out his tongue. She pursed up like a cat, grabbed his chair, and smacked it over his head to make him bite down on his tongue.

"OOOUUCCCHHHH!"

Gai's voice traveled four blocks away.

xxx

Misaki sat at her desk next to Saitou, as Ootsuka typed frantically on the computer about the event in Shinjuku. Four Contractors had been active last night, and one of them was Li.

Had the Syndicate found where he was hiding and attacked him? She knew he and his attackers were still alive since there weren't any falling stars. She was concerned if Li was all right and safe, or had he been kidnapped? Was it her fault that they had found Li, or had they gotten lucky at finding where he was staying?

Her mind drifted away from those thoughts, and then settled on Li's fiancée. Misaki wondered how beautiful she looked. Did her eyes sparkle when she batted her eyelids? Did she have a figure that made men awe and drool? Was her hair more delicate and beautiful than hers? Did she need glasses? Misaki feared she didn't.

Had they consummated their love, were they even in love, or had their parents arranged their marriage? Did they have any kids? Moreover, if they did, how many did they have, and how old were they? Did they look like Li, or did they look like their mother? Did Li even know they existed?

Why hadn't Li told her about his fiancé? Was he embarrassed about running out on her and couldn't mention it? Was she really Li's fiancée?

Misaki didn't think so since Li is a Contractor. However, Dr. Schrader had said that Messier code BK201 had belonged to a woman. It stated that Li had not been a Contractor before Heaven's Gate had disappeared.

She also remembered her conversation with Li about how he was relieved that his sister had passed away. She figured Li's sister had been BK201 and somehow had past her ability to him. However, was Li engaged to be married?

Misaki believed it was possible, and maybe Li leaving her was because he wanted to protect his sister. It made sense at first, but Li was around ten, and he would have been too young to marry. Li would have been in South America when he would have been old enough to marry, and at that time he was known as the Black Reaper.

Misaki started putting the puzzles together, and if she was right, Li's so-called fiancee wasn't his fiancee, but an employee of the Syndicate. Somehow Gai had found Li and led the woman right to him.

"Chief!" shouted Saitou to retreat her from her thoughts.

"N—nani?" said Misaki startled.

"Ootsuka had said she's done with the report and sent it to your computer," said Saitou, giving her a concerned look.

"Ah, sorry. Arigatou, Ootsuka."

Ootsuka bowed in her chair, and continued her work. Misaki opened the file and began reading it. Pleased of how it sounded she sent it to her commander's computer. Her thoughts returned to Li and wondered if he was in danger? If he figured he was in danger, would he stay where he and Yin were living?

Misaki stood from her chair while grabbing her purse.

"Going somewhere, Chief?" asked Saitou.

"Ah, I want to check some leads," replied Misaki.

Saitou stood and said, "All right, I'll come along."

"No, I'm going alone."

Ootsuka and Saitou looked at her peculiarly.

"Why?" asked Ootsuka.

"It's a matter I have to deal with. Sorry, I can't say anymore."

Misaki walked over to the elevator, entered it, and descended to the garage. Once there, she headed over to her car, entered it to start it up, and drove out of the garage to merge into traffic. Misaki looked in her rearview mirror to see a black Toyota pull out a few cars behind her as well.

As she drove, her thoughts dwelled on Li. If the Syndicate had kidnapped him, would they hold him where she had been taken to, or would they hide him somewhere else? Misaki decided to drive over to Li's work to see if he had shown up for work, and prayed he would be there.

She passed a few intersections before making a left turn, and then a right before having to stop at a red light. Misaki's fingers rapped on her steering wheel, as she impatiently waited for the light to turn green. Suddenly, she noticed the same black Toyota from the Police garage still a few cars behind her. She narrowed her eyes at it in her rearview mirror from a disturbing feeling developing in the pit of her stomach.

A horn honked, indicating an impatient motorist was informing her rudely that the light had turned green. Misaki ignored the commotion and moved while she kept looking in her mirror, watching the black Toyota to see if it were following her.

She made a left hand turn, passed an intersection, and made a right hand turn with the Toyota still behind her at the same distance.

No doubt she was being tailed.

Misaki had to stop at another red light. She looked into her rearview mirror, eyeing the car to see if she could identify the driver or any of the passengers, but she couldn't. Were they following her in hope she would lead them to Li? Misaki wouldn't let that happen, and she refused to be used as a pong. She returned her attention to the road, placed the shifter in first, as she revved the engine, and popped the clutch while cranking her steering wheel to the right to zip through on coming traffic.

Misaki quickly shifted into second after making the hairpin turn, and looked in her rearview mirror to see her pursuers chasing after her, as she threw the stick into third. The engine quickly revved up to its maxium RPMs, which she shifted into fourth, but Misaki had to downshift to slow the Porsche in order to zip left around a car, and then pressed on the gas while zagging right by another vehicle. She shifted back into fourth with the followers still on her tail. Misaki turned on her siren to move motorist out of the way, as she shot through another red light, causing other drivers to slam on their brakes and crash. She glanced in her mirror to see if her pursuers had been involved in the incident, but they had made it through.

Another intersection was vastly approaching. Misaki pushed down on the clutch, pressed her right foot's toe on the brake while her heal hovered over the gas pedal, and made a sharp right turn. As her car's nose was pointing rightwards, she kept her right toe on the brake while releasing the clutch and pressing the gas with her heel to prevent from over steering the car, and straightened it out. Misaki looked into her mirror and saw her pursuers making the turn, drifting with less experience, which put them a quarter of a kilometer behind.

She rolled down her window, and then pulled out her gun. As Misaki reached the next intersection, she threw her shifter into neutral, and pulled up on her emergency brake to make a 180 degree turn. She braced herself against the G-force while aiming her gun at her pursuers, and shot at the car's front left tire.

It blew, causing the car to swerve, as tire rubber scattered everywhere, and then it flipped to barrel roll three times and came to a halt on its roof a few yards away from Misaki. Car's brakes tried to screech to a stop, as their horns honked in fright of the unexpected incident. The Toyota's front driver side was plowed by a mini van, causing it to spin like a merry-go-round, and then getting T-boned by a green taxicab heading in the opposite direction. The cars behind them had avoided plowing into the Toyota, but they ended up hitting each other.

Misaki exited her vehicle while pointing her gun at the black Toyota to see a man squirming out of the passenger's side, holding a nine-millimeter in his right hand. His face was drenched from his blood pouring down from his scalp, his black suit he wore ripped in different spots, and his hands had pieces of glasses imbedded in them. She shot his hand, forcing him to drop the gun, and having him scream out in pain.

"Don't move!" demanded Misaki. "Who are you? Do you work for the Syndicate?"

The man glared up at her fiercely, his teeth clenched, as if they were glued together to keep him from speaking. Suddenly, the car highlighted like a Contractor. The bloody man started to freak out, which made him franticly try to rustle his way out of the glass-shattered window, and then looked back to see his left foot was tangled in the seatbelt.

He then frightfully looked up at Misaki and cried out, "Help me!"

Before Misaki could figure out what was going on the car exploded. The after shock was so fearsome, it threw Misaki back, like she was a fly caught in a gust of wind, and landed on her back, causing her to slam her head on the ground, and make her black out.

**Darker Than Black**

Gokou, Krillin, and Bulma walked the streets of Tokyo in search of BK201 and the Doll; unfortunately, they kept running into the wrong ones. They couldn't believe how many Dolls there were and cursed about it. They had bumped into a dark-skinned woman, drinking a pack of beer, and a boy they had nearly gotten into a scuffle with. They were able to escape them thanks to Bulma's ability.

"There's one on the JR line heading from Shinjuku to where we are in Osaki," said Krillin. "We could try that one?"

"Our luck she'll get off before we get on," said Bulma.

They agreed to try their luck and bought tickets for the day. They stepped onto the platform, and waited for the train. The Doll they were tracking stayed on up to their stop. The trio entered the same car as the Doll to see their search wasn't in vain. Standing in front of her, holding onto a pole since there was no vacant spot, was BK201 wearing a green coat, and looking at nothing since his mind looked to be somewhere else.

"Lucky!" chimed Bulma.

She called on her power, distorting the train, and confusing the passengers. BK201 looked around, seeming as if he was off balance, while the Doll sat still, making it appear that the distortion wasn't fazing her.

Gokou pulled back his arms, as his body outline in blue and his eyes burned red, and threw his blue ball at BK201. It was about to strike him, but the Doll grabbed his coat and pulled him towards her so that the ball exploded and shattered the window where he had been standing, scaring the passengers and leaving a huge gash on the side of the train.

Krillin threw his energy saw at BK201. Unfortunately, the Doll stood from where she sat and yanked him into the next car.

_How is my ability not affecting her? _Thought Bulma.

"Yin!" shouted Hei at her. "You're able to move freely? How?"

"Cause I can't see, Hei," replied Yin. "Her ability affects people who can see."

"Really? That means I have to fight with my eyes closed. Do you think you can see her with your spectre?"

"No, I already tried," Yin shook her head.

"All right. Yin, get everyone out of here."

"Hai. Everyone, please follow me if you don't want to be killed."

The passengers looked at her awkwardly, but they changed their minds as the car became distorted.

Hei took in a deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling the car returning right side-up, and listened to his surroundings. He heard the little whining sound the blond spike-haired man's energy ball made, could picture it being released at him, and moved out of the way. Baldy started up his energy saw, and threw it, which Hei rolled under towards the blue-haired woman, and shocked her.

"How?" she whimpered, as she passed out.

Hei opened his eyes and found himself in a fistfight with the two remaining Contractors. He dodged right, moved left, ducked under a kick from blonde, and punched him hard in the stomach while shocking him, making the Saiya-jin cosplayer take a seat across from him.

Baldy threw another energy saw at Hei, missing him and breaking the window behind him. Wind swirled inside the train, as he blocked a kick, moved right from a left jab, and juked back from a right hook. A lucky left connected with Hei's jaw, but he followed through it by turning three hundred and sixty degrees, and backhanded baldy in the face.

Blonde recovered from his shock, stood to kick Hei in the face, and made him stumbled back. Hei was then jump-kicked by both Contractors, causing him to fall out the window, but luckily his legs held him from falling onto the tracks. Hei heard a horn blowing a hundred yards ahead of him, and saw another train approaching. He fought to get out of the way, but the Contractors held him down, as they smiled down at their victory

Unfortunately, for them Hei hadn't played his trump card yet.

He called on his power, shocking his opponents, and making them loosen their grip. Hei punched blonde hard across the face to make him stumble back. He then threw baldy out of the window and pulled his own body back into the train, as the monk-like kid busted threw the approaching train's front window.

Hei stared at blonde who was staggering, and then he smiled while knocking him out.

"Hei!" called Yin, as she reentered the car. "How'd they find us?"

Hei wasn't sure, but then he saw a thing that looked like some kind of radar on the ground next to the blue-haired woman. He picked it up and noticed a blinking light in the center. A thought came to him.

"Yin, move down the train," said Hei.

Yin did so, which the light followed her movement. Hei summoned the gift his sister had given him, and destroyed the radar.

xxx

Misaki sat on the curve, holding an ice pack with her left hand on a bump where she had hit her head on the ground. A patch was taped on her forehead from a small cut, and her right arm was lying in a sling from a fracture. Misaki's dress coat lay next to her, slashes and burns all over it, as well as her pant legs and blouse, which showed other wounds she had received.

Her team and the local fire department sorted through the rubble. Two male bodies had been pulled out of the wreckage, and she wondered if the other dead corpse was the Contractor who blew them up. Misaki wanted to call Kanami to find out, but her phone had been destroyed from the explosion.

Saitou was talking with a firefighter. Suddenly, he was startled from something, then fiddled in his pocket, and pulled out his phone that was ringing. He answered it, nodded his head, and then his eyes widened in shock.

He ran over to Misaki and shouted, "Chief, BK201 was active just a few minutes ago!"

Misaki stood from the curve shocked, wishing she didn't move since her head was still throbbing, and shouted, "Really! Where?"

"Kanami said around Roppongi, and she thinks he was moving. Chief, the three other Contractors were active too. One of them was killed."

Misaki's heart sank, as she fearfully thought the worst.

"Not… BK…20…1?" she whimpered.

"No, KR336."

Misaki let out a breath of relief, and then realized Saitou had noticed her concern and looked at her peculiarly. Her emotions for Li were getting to her again, and she couldn't help it. However, to her luck the commander wasn't here to notice.

"What about any other Contractors dying?" she asked.

He shook his head and said, "No, but Kanami did say JY407 was active around here, so he had to be the one who caused the explosion."

"Misaki!" shouted Ootsuka. "People on the JR line heading from Osaki to Shinagawa had reported four Contractors fighting. One of them had been killed, and two had been knocked out! The commander has sent a unit to detain them."

"What about L… BK201?" asked Misaki, catching herself, but Saitou had noticed her slip up. _Tsk, why all of a sudden are you being wise to things, Saitou?_

"Gone," replied Ootsuka.

xxx

The morning sun shined in the JR line's car that Hei and Yin stood in. Hei thought about things getting out of hand, the two moving around that was tiring him out, and wondering if he could protect Yin for long, or would they be dead within a year. He wished he had never become known as the Black Reaper, and wished he lived a peaceful life with his sister in China. Unfortunately, the explosion in South America and Japan had prevented such a thing.

"Hei, how did they find out where we lived?" asked Yin.

"I'm guessing that that _fiancée _Gai had mentioned was the blue-haired woman," replied Hei. "How can a moron like him get so lucky and find us?"

"Where do we hide now?"

"I don't know."

xxx

Misaki drove her car through the city in the early morning, maneuvering the vehicle and shifting difficultly with her arm in a sling. Her body ached all over, and it didn't feel any better driving her car. She had thought about riding in the subways, but Misaki believed she would be in more pain from walking around.

She parked in front of Li's work, slowly and carefully exited her car, and entered the restaurant. The girl who had smacked Li was standing behind the counter and recognized her immediately.

"So where's your boyfriend?" she spat.

Misaki flinched from her saying Li was her boyfriend, and then looked down at the floor.

"I thought so," she stated, and then looked up at the girl to ask, "He quit?"

"Hai, yesterday. He came in and asked for his check and said, 'I quit!' When you see him; give him a good whacking in the back of the head for me. Oh my? What happened to your forehead and arm?"

"Eh, I was in a car accident yesterday."

"Really? Are you all right?"

"Hai. Thank you."

Misaki bowed her thanks, exited the restaurant to enter her car, and merged into traffic. Her thoughts returned to the report concerning the Contractors who stated they were after BK201, which she believed the female was the same person who claimed to be Li's fiancée. As Misaki had feared she was beautiful. A man would be a fool to pass up someone like her.

She cursed at herself for letting her jealousy get the best of her. That woman named Bulma wasn't Li's fiancée, and that was that. Although because of the dilemma, Li had to run and disappear from her again. It was better this way, but it still killed her.

xxx

Gai sat in his office smoking a cigarette and reading the newspaper's headline. It mentioned about three Contractors making a commotion on the JR line, and one of them being killed. Witnesses had said that they were after a young man in a green coat with black hair and blue eyes, and believed he too was a Contractor.

There were also pictures of the three Contractors who looked to be cosplayers. Gai thought he recognized the woman, but he figured it was because she looked like that woman from one of those anime shows he had watched years ago. To save his life he couldn't remember what the show was called, but guessed it was a Gundam show.

Kiko entered the office, waving her hand at the smog, as she quickly walked over to the window to open it, and stuck her head out it to get a breath of fresh air.

"I'm going to die from second-hand smoke here!" she sighed, and then glared at Gai. "I think you should quit before your insides rot out!"

"What they say is bull, Kiko," replied Gai.

"They have proof people die from it!"

"Proof my bottom. Who cares about evidence?"

"You don't, and that's why we're having difficultly paying for our financial problems."

"Quiet!"

Kiko narrowed her eyes at him with a devilish smile and asked, "Never got a hold of Fraud-sama; did you?"

"No," Gai frowned. "I even went to where I saw Li, and they had said they haven't seen him around the time he comes in their store to eat. I'm guessing she found him and dragged him back to China."

"Baka! She's a stalker."

"No, she's no stalker. My instincts tell me Quin-san is from China, but she's not as rich as she made us believe."

Kiko slumped over feeling sick from his comment.

"What do you think, Kiko?" Gai challenged her, as he looked over at her.

"I told you what I think," she said bluntly. "As for Li disappearing again, I think it was because he recognized her."

"Maybe he split when I found him and knew you'd be right behind?" Gai narrowed his eyes at her.

"Never!" growled Kiko.

Gai smirked and asked, "Why not?"

"Because he thinks I am cute." Kiko smiled proudly.

"You, cute? Why would he think a flat-chested girl like you would be cute since he likes breasted woman like Kirihara-san."

Kiko's face burned with fire, cocked her right fist back, and punched Gai hard in the face. He swallowed his cigarette while flying over his desk, and slammed into the couch to tumble over with it.

"OUCH!" shouted Gai, as he stood from the ground and ran over to the sink to gulp down some water for his burnt throat. "That stun!"

"Then quit!"

Japanese Translation:

Itai - Ouch


	7. Chapter 7

Darker than Black

Chapter seven: Assassination Attempts

These next two chapters were going to be my first, but I didn't think these chapters were going to get the reader's attention, so I didn't use them. I love these chapters, especially how funny some parts are, and so I decided to share them. I'm doing them back-to-back since they've been done for a while, so please enjoy, and I will get chapter nine out ASAP.

One month after Hell's Gate

The fake stars shined down on the glimmering skyscrapers that littered the area of Tokyo. A mixture of colors sparkled in twilight from Hell's Gate too as far as the eye could see. Pedestrians scuffled along the sidewalks, crossing the streets when they needed to. A couple embracing each other laughed at something they thought was hilarious, as a teenager walked in their wake while she listened to her iPod. A few motorists patiently worked their way through traffic lights, as others honked their horns for the traffic to move. Delivery boys on mopeds zipped on by in a hurry to arrive at their destination on time.

A mid-sized man with black spiky hair walked the streets of Tokyo in search of his prey that his organization had ordered him to take out to benefit their order. Things have gone wrong for them due to Kirihara Misaki arresting Hourai, and informing the public that his kind existed.

The mid-sized man saw his prey walking amongst the crowd. He wore a well-pressed suit, and his head seemed diminutive on top of his muscular body. The mid-sized man smiled and walked towards his target ready to strike, but before he could reach him a cable line wrapped around his chest, surprising him, and reeled him up to a rooftop.

The mid-sized man plopped onto the roof, and then began struggling to get free of the cable, but it was too tightly wand around. He then looked to where it ended and saw a man in a black coat and white mask holding it.

"BK201!" the mid-sized man shouted. "You TRAITOR! How dare you go against the Syndicate and now interfere with their work!"

"The Syndicate wants to kill all Contractors," BK201 replied.

The mid-sized man snorted, and then made his eyes turn red and body outline in blue, causing a piece of vent to break off and fling it to hit BK201. The cable loosened up, allowing the man to untangle himself, and then summon a sharp object to throw at his predator. Unfortunately, he pulled out a split double-edge blade and knocked the sharp object to the side. The mid-sized man clenched his teeth in glee, as he continued using the item, making him feel like he was the predator now.

Suddenly, BK201 grabbed the object, surprising the mid-sized man, but regained his composure and sent BK201 up in the air. He didn't fight it, which pleased the man, and hung his opponent over the building for a few seconds before dropping him. BK201 didn't scream as he fell past the building's ledge, making the man smile in delight.

He walked over to it and look down to a pancake Contractor below, but instead found his jaw connecting with BK201's boots. The mid-sized man stumbled back, as BK201 landed on top of the roof. Before the man could regain his balance, BK201 flung his cable around his waist and shocked him.

The mid-sized man fell to his knees and asked, "Why? Why do you care to save their lives? They must die."

"They are only doing their job," replied BK201.

The mid-sized man laughed at the comment.

"You had almost killed them yourself, but you got lucky from Mao dropping that container that made them forget the whole incident."

BK201 pulled on his cable and shocked him again, making everything go blank.

xxx

Kirihara Misaki stood on the rooftop staring at MG678 wrapped up in cables on the floor. Saitou and Kouno were securing him to prevent him from doing his ability. This had been the fifth Contractor taken into custody since Hell's Gate's little incident, thanks to the help of BK201.

She was pleased that he had not ended their lives, which made it clear to her that the Black Reaper had died that day, and not Li.

Her heart ached at the thought of his name. She tried to put her feelings aside whenever she was on a case, but it was hard since the situation concerned the man she had strong feelings for. Misaki could feel her heart pounding against her chest, as if it were trying to call out for Li.

Saitou and Kouno carried the captive towards her. He looked displeased and angry.

"MG678," began Misaki, forcing herself to straighten her composure. "You are under arrest for continuous unlawful acts against this nation."

"Your big bulky partner here is lucky BK201 interfered, Officer Kirihara," stated MG678.

"Nani?" questioned Misaki.

"The Syndicate has put out a hit on your team." MG678 smiled gleefully. "I was hired to kill him." He gestured with his head towards Saitou.

"My team is on the Syndicate's hit list? Does it have anything to do with my interference at Hell's Gate?"

"Hai, but consider yourself lucky though, Kirihara. Someone in the hire-ups wants to keep you alive."

"Nani? Who?"

"Dunno."

Saitou and Kouno escorted MG678 out as he laughed. Misaki pondered on the whole thing and wondered who would want her left alive?

Misaki dove into the local pool and began to freestyle across it in order to get her mind off of Li. She thought of the files concerning the Contractors that had been arrested last month. Three of them worked for the Syndicate, and others were Contractors from out of the country. It had been a hassle, and it felt like nothing had been done.

She reached the other side of the pool and twirled around to continue in the opposite direction.

Misaki's mind betrayed her and resurfaced a memory of the night a few weeks ago when she had called the Chinese Police Force. She had asked if they could fax any information about someone by the name of Li Shengshun. They had asked why in which she had stated there was a Chinese man who went by that name in Japan and he had disappeared. They had complied and sent what they had.

She spun around and pushed off the wall for her third lap.

There had been a dozen Li Shengshun's living in China, making Misaki curse at the paper work. She had searched through the files one-by-one, believing she could find the Li she was looking for, but after days of flipping through pages and losing her patience, she had come to her senses that Li was a convenient name.

However, there had been a file that had caught her attention.

Misaki started her fourth lap.

There had been a couple by the name of Shengshun with a son and daughter that lived in the wilderness. To her discomfort the family had been gunned down by what seemed like a platoon with no survivors. The girl named Xing was only ten years old, and the boy was thirteen years old when they had died. But to Misaki's surprise, his name was Li and he had blue eyes and black hair.

Misaki believed that that boy was indeed the same man who had told her Li was dead.

Unable to get him out of her head, she exited the pool and checked the time on her cell phone. In two hours her and her colleagues were to meet their new commander. Misaki snatched a towel lying on a lounge chair and entered the woman's changing room to shower.

Memories of eating with Li and taking swings at the batting cage before Hell's Gate tormented her. The feeling she was having because of him was horrendous. She had had crushes on boys in High School, and they had broken her heart when they broke up with her, but she had gotten over it.

Unfortunately, she didn't know if she could get over Li.

Misaki and her colleagues sat around the oval oak table in the conference room. She glanced at the clock on the wall to see it read two o'clock in the afternoon, and then the door opened to reveal a toned Japanese man in his forties with graying short hair; presented in a pressed suit.

Commander Hayatsu Yamato sat before everyone and leaned back in the chair.

"Let me get to the point," he started with. "I will not tolerate any failures or slacking under my command. If I see anything I do not approve of; if I think you are not qualified to carry out your orders; if you intentionally slip up on putting a Contractor or anyone associated with one in custody, I will fire you immediately: understood?"

"Hai," everyone said.

Misaki felt a little uncomfortable when Yamato had said, '_if you intentionally slip up on putting a Contractor or anyone associated with one in custody_.' Was he mentioning her letting BK201 go?

"All right, what's the situation concerning MG678?" asked Yamato.

"Well, sir," began Ootsuka, "We had gotten word he and BK201 were active in Tokyo where Saitou was. When we got there, we found MG678 tide up from BK201 we believe."

"BK201? The one who fried Dr. Schrader's little toy, right?"

"Hai." Ootsuka nodded.

"He's been leaving Contractors for you to arrest; why is that, Section-Chief Kirihara?" Yamato glared at her with his eyes narrowed.

Misaki tensed at his stare, which felt like a ton of bricks to hold up. She could already tell he didn't trust her and her judgment. Her team looked over at her concerned and wondered why he had asked her.

"From what I have gathered," began Misaki, keeping her voice neutral, "the Syndicate, who has spies in various organizations, wants to kill all the Contractors so that the real stars and the moon can return. BK201 found out about it, and stopped them from carrying out their plan. I guess now he wants to bring them to justice."

"Really, Section-Chief Kirihara?" questioned Yamato. "I got the impression that BK201 was a killing machine, and he is also known as the Black Reaper. What would make him have a change of heart?"

"I don't know." Misaki lied.

Yamato stared at her disbelievingly, but shrugged it off and said, "That's all. Get back to work." They stood to leave as they gathered their stuff and headed for the door. "A few words alone with you please, Section-Chief Kirihara."

Misaki stopped and turned to stare at the new commander puzzled, as Ootsuka closed the door behind her.

"What is it you wish to speak with me about?" she asked bluntly.

"You and your feelings towards BK201," he replied.

"Eh?"

"You had BK201 in the same room that day at Hell's Gate, and you didn't arrest him. Why?"

"He got away before I could get a clean shot, sir. I had written that in my report already."

"I've read it, and I don't accept it. You had no more than fifty yards between you and him, and I know you can put a bullet between his eyes, but you hesitated. WHY?"

Misaki jumped at his outburst. She didn't like how this was going and could tell he was an officer not to mess with or lie to.

"May I make a suggestion, sir?" asked Misaki. Yamato gestured her to. "You weren't there so you couldn't know what the situation was and what I had for a clear shot."

Yamato's eyes twitched from her comment and knew she had overstepped her boundaries with that line.

"You're right, Section-Chief Kirihara," he replied with. "But I will warn you now; if you ever slip up like that again, and I can prove you let BK201 go on purpose, I will kick you off this team and sign someone I trust."

"Sir, can I ask a question?" Misaki was given the privilege to. "Why would I let BK201 go freely when I know he is a Contractor, and it is my duty to bring him to justice for his crimes?"

Yamato sat quiet for a few seconds and then responded with, "That's what I'd like to know. And one other thing; it would be wise to watch your tongue around me, Section-Chief Kirihara. Don't think I won't suspend you for back mouthing me, or slipping up on your work because of your old man."

"As do I, sir. I have work to do; are we done here?"

Yamato nodded in which Misaki exited the conference room. Things weren't going to be easy with Yamato around.

**Darker than Black**

Two months after Hell's Gate:

The Syndicate sat in the conference room discussing the situation they were in. BK201 was getting in their way of attempts at assassinating Kirihara's partners, and it was getting on their nerves.

They wondered how BK201 knew when they would attack and by whom. Mito and Akira had made an assumption and had called for a meeting to discuss it.

"We believe the Doll is listening into our discussion," stated Akira.

Ken, Brian, and Hiro muttered to themselves.

"That's bull!" replied Ken.

"How is that bull, baka?" asked Brian.

"Don't you dare call me dumb!" Ken stood shouting while pointing at Brian. "If she's listening in on us, then they know where we are! If they know where we are then why haven't they come and killed us!"

"You are dumb. He's playing against us like chest. BK201 is taking out our pawns, and then he'll go for the bigger pieces."

"Why you!" growled Ken.

"Enough!" barked Mito. "Ken, sit your butt down this instant and shut up!" Ken looked over at him irritated, but did what he was told. "We know we are having problems, but now is not the time to be slicing each other's throat. BK201 is always one step ahead of us; we just have to out smart him."

"How do you propos we do that?"

"Like making sure you and Ken don't bring in cups of water," spoke up Akira, as he pointed to the cups before them. "That Doll can probably see anywhere as long as there are any liquid substances."

Ken and Brian looked at their cups, and then grabbed them to throw them out of the room. They returned to their seats quietly.

"So what now?" Hiro asked. "Who are we going to take out?"

"Mayu Ootsuka," replied Akira.

xxx

Hei sat in front of Yin in a small apartment in Tokyo, as she listened in on the Syndicate's meeting. After fifteen minutes of waiting patiently she pulled her hand out of the pan and glanced over at him.

"They figured out I was listening in, Hei," stated Yin. "They threw out the cups I was spying in."

"Did they say what they were going to do before they pitched out the water?" asked Hei uneasily.

"No, but I was able to slip into the water pipes under the floor and hear. They're after that woman you saved from that Contractor back in spring."

Hei frowned as he remembered the incident. His cover had almost been blown to where Kirihara-san knew he was BK201, but the pollen from the container had made her and her partners forget. He even remembered he had caught Huang's cold the following day.

"Maya Ootsuka?" questioned Hei.

"Hai," nodded Yin. "They plan on attacking her after she leaves the Foreign Affairs department tomorrow. They plan on using RD224."

"I got a bad feeling about rescuing her, Yin." Hei told her bluntly with his eyes narrowed. "How is she going to react when she sees me again?"

xxx

Night had fallen over Tokyo. Ootsuka ascended the stairs in Shibuya and jumped on the JR line for Shinjuku. Moments later she exited the train, walked to where the Odakyu Electric Railway was, and stepped onto it to head towards Komae Shi where her apartment was. She sat down at one of the empty seats and began reading her Manga, as a few other passengers entered and sat a few seats down from her. One of them seemed to be eerie looking.

Ootsuka kept her eyes glued to her book until they reached her stop. She stood to exit the car with a few passengers following, and headed southeast.

Seven minutes later she came up to a two-lane bridge that ran over a small ravine, with a grassy hill leading down to it on both sides that lay four meters below. She walked passed a rectangular area with a green screen around it to prevent anything from flying into housing nearby. Ootsuka began to walk across the bridge, cars zipping over it and a few other locals making their way across. Suddenly, she felt like she was being followed and turned to see if she was.

Nobody was there.

Ootsuka turned around to walk across the bridge when suddenly the concrete crumbled and gave way, causing Ootsuka to scream while she, other pedestrians, and the cars passing by came crumbling down into the small ravine below. She struck the shallow water, either fracturing or breaking her right leg, and placed her hands over her head trying to shield herself from falling debris. Dozens of cars plowed head first into the water and tipped onto their roofs, or crashed on their sides as chunks of concrete landed on top.

Once the debris had ceased its pulverizing menace, Ootsuka pushed some of the small blocks off her to stand. She cringed from the cuts and bruises she obtained, and limped over to check on the victims.

"Are you all right?" she asked to a young lady in a car upside down.

"H—hai," she said shakily. "What happened?"

"I don't know?"

Ootsuka pulled out her cell phone to call for help, but it crumbled in her hand, as if she had squeezed it too hard. Suddenly, she noticed the eerie man from the train standing on the grassy slope, looking at her with red eyes, and his body outlined in blue.

"A Contractor!" Ootsuka screamed. She then looked at everyone who was climbing out of his or her cars. "Everyone, run!"

The people who had climbed out of his or her car safely looked at her peculiarly, glanced at the man highlighted in blue, and then frightfully ran towards the other side of the ravine screaming. People that were stuck in his or her cars, or under boulders, shouted for help. Ootsuka pulled out her gun from her soaked purse and pointed it at the Contractor. Unexpectedly, the gun grumbled in her hands.

"Foolish little girl," said the Contractor. "My powers can crumble wood, concrete, any type of metal, and even bones."

His eyes burned red again and then Ootsuka felt her right foot break in two places, which caused her to scream out in pain as she kneeled in the ravine. The Contractor slowly walked up to her smiling devilishly, and performed his ability again, making her right arm break in half.

"Next is your neck," commented the Contractor.

Ootsuka braced herself for the final blow, but his attention shifted to his right and shattered a split double-edge blade. He looked to where it had come from, as did Ootsuka, and saw a man in black with a white mask standing on part of the bridge that had held up.

"It's him," muttered Ootsuka.

"YOU!" shouted the Contractor.

He lit up in blue again to destroy the bridge underneath the masked man, but the masked man jumped off it and landed in the ravine. The Contractor glared at the man in black who moved swiftly at his opponent, but then stumbled and fell, splashing water around him while growling in pain from a broken right wrist.

The masked man difficultly kneeled and looked at the Contractor who smiled devilishly.

"Die!" The Contractor screamed and glowed blue.

Unexpectedly, the ground seemed to shake as the air echoed from an uproarious sound. The man in black held his stomach while slouching over, as a cricket's symphony portrayed the spectator's bewildered expressions.

"S—sorry, I haven't eaten since breakfast," the masked man embarrassedly said, breaking the silence.

The Contractor and the spectators stared at him curiously, as a crow flew overhead crowing, "Ahou, ahou, ahou."

The Contractor, irritated from the redundant interruption, clenched his teeth and summoned his power. Unfortunately, from the distraction, the masked man had wrapped his cable around the Contractor's neck and pulled, causing the eerie man to trip and fall and splatter water around him. He stood, his clothes drenched with water dripping from his hair, as he narrowed his blood red eyes while his body outlined in blue. The masked man's line snapped, making him stumble a few paces back.

The masked man pulled out a spare knife with his left hand, ran at his opponent, and swung his blade. Unfortunately, the eerie man shattered the thing before it connected with his head. The masked man then punched the eerie man across the face, and back flipped kicked to connect with his jaw, as he splattered water around him.

The Contractor stumbled back and regained his balance to call on his power, but he found a cable wrapped around his neck and before he could snap the line, the masked man pulled his opponent towards him and punched him again. The eerie man stumbled back and came to a stop to glare at the masked man curiously, looking as if he was pondering something.

Moments later he smiled devilishly.

"You can't use your power without shocking everyone in the water, can you?" pointed out the Contractor. His eyes turned red again and then the masked man grabbed his right leg, causing the Contractor to laugh hysterically. "How about I break your neck next?"

His eyes burned again, but the cable around his neck tightened, surprising the Contractor, and then the masked man threw his spare knife right through the Contractor's skull. His eyes began to cross-eye, as if to stare at the blade in his forehead, and then fell backwards into the ravine. Blood seeped into the water, causing women to scream as a star fell from the sky.

Sirens could be heard in the distance now. Ootsuka stood clumsily up and limped over to the masked man to see if he was all right, but before she got within three meters, he flung his cable over to wrap it around a telephone pole, and flew off.

Police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances screeched to a halt around the damaged bridge. Medics stormed out of the vehicles and rushed down the slope to attend to the victims. The lady Ootsuka had helped a few minutes ago assured she was fine, and then pointed over to Ootsuka. The medic hurried his way over to her and checked her injuries.

The medic slowly helped her up the grassy slope and guided Ootsuka over to an ambulance where he began to bandage her up.

"We'll need to finish fixing you up at the hospital," said the medic.

Ootsuka nodded and frowned since she was going to miss an episode of her favorite anime tonight. She even didn't have the Tivo set up to record it.

Moments later Misaki, Kouno, Matsumoto, and Saitou arrived and ran over to her.

"Ootsuka, you all right?" asked Saitou, as they reached her.

"Hai," she responded. "It's just a couple of broken bones. They need to take me to the hospital."

"I'll go with you, Maya," spoke up Kouno.

Kouno climbed into the ambulance as the medics secured everything down.

"Ootsuka, what happened?" Misaki asked.

"It wasn't a dream!"

"A dream?" questioned Misaki.

"The man in the white masked saved me again, Misaki," smiled Ootsuka.

"The man in the white mask?" Misaki looked at her surprised. "Ootsuka, that was BK201?"

"Eh? The man in the white mask was BK201?"

"Hai, who else would it be?" pointed out Saitou.

"Well, I would have never thought that, especially after hearing his stomach growl so loud."

Saitou looked at her peculiarly, as Misaki's eyes widened in shock, but then turned serious and asked, "Where'd he go?"

Ootsuka pointed to the east, as the medics closed the doors.

As the ambulance that held Ootsuka took off, Misaki ran over to her car and entered it. She released her parking brake, put her shifter in first gear, and popped the clutch to squeal the tires and turn the car one hundred-eighty degrees. Saitou looked at her surprisingly while she shot past him, roaring down the streets with her siren howling in the shadows, as her desires to see Li again tormented her heart.

Misaki turned sharply to her left and shot across the next bridge a few meters south from the destroyed one, and then looked at the tops of the roofs to see if she could spot him. She fearfully thought of not seeing him again, but to her luck, she saw Li swinging a little to her left, and directed her car towards him.

As if he knew she was following him, Li began to swing northwards, making Misaki redirect her vehicle to follow. The Odakyu Electric Railway tracks came into view with a train heading westward. Li landed on top of it, prompting her to stay with it. She looked up at him as he looked down at her, but her attention shifted to the approaching ravine and slammed on her brakes. Her Porsche skidded to a halt, her tires coming to a rest on the edge of the dip of the slop, as Misaki cursed while she watched the train pull into the station.

She exited her vehicle and trotted down the slope to run across the ravine, ruining her shoes and clothes, and sprinted up the other side as fast as she could to enter the train station. She asked passengers if they had seen someone jumping off the top of the train, but they looked at her perplexedly while shaking his or her head, as if she was insane from an ignorant question. Misaki then began rampaging through stores, glancing at stands, and checking people who were dressed in black, but there was no sign of him.

She stood in the center of the station, breathing heavily, and wondered where he had disappeared to, as people walked by her without a glance.

xxx

Japanese meanings:

Ahou: Moron


	8. Chapter 8

Darker than Black

Darker than Black

Chapter Eight: Assassinate BK201

Day after Ootsuka's assassination attempt:

"Again he escaped!" screamed Yamato at Misaki in his office.

He leaned over his desk with his fist pressed down on it, as he glared furiously at Misaki who stood still before him. Even though the doors were closed, everyone could still hear the conversation.

"I got to the scene just after BK201 had made a break for it, sir," Misaki defended herself. "We didn't even know he was there since he didn't use his power. I made pursuit after him, and I was able to catch up to follow BK201 to the train station, but I had lost him in the crowd.

"No excuses with me, Section-Chief Kirihara!" shouted Yamato. "You decided to go after BK201 alone, and in doing so you didn't have an extra pare of eyes to look for him!"

"Sir, it wouldn't have made a difference. BK201 can lose anyone if he chooses to."

Misaki was guessing about her last statement, but she knew it to be true after going to Li's old apartment a couple of months ago, and losing site of him in a split second after spotting him through his window.

"Or you didn't try hard enough!" continued Yamato. "You have been successful at capturing Contractors, but your consistent failure at obtaining BK201 is unacceptable!"

"What would you wish for me to do, sir? Ask BK201 to stop running away so I can arrest him?"

"Don't get cocky with me, Section-Chief Kirihara! Do your job and bring BK201 to justice without anymore slip ups: understood!"

"And how am I suppose to do that, sir?" Misaki mocked.

Yamato clenched down on his teeth, making it look like they were going to crack under pressure, and screamed, "SHOOT HIM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! Now, get out of my office so I can finish up with your IDIOTIC report!"

Misaki exited the office and cursed under her breath, "Li, why of all people did you have to be BK201? Thank you for putting me in this mess."

xxx

Hei sat in his apartment and sneezed suddenly. He scratched his nose, wondering where the tickling sensation had come from, and hoped he wasn't catching another cold.

"Bless you, Hei," said Yin from the windowsill.

She had her foot in a bucket while trying to spy on the Syndicate. The sun was shining through it with scattered clouds hovering over the city. The calm breeze merely played at her hair.

"Arigatou, Yin," replied Hei.

Three Months after Hell's Gate:

The Syndicate, figuring BK201 would eventually kill them, had decided to move their organization. The room was brightly lit and slightly more confined. Ken was squirming in his seat and grinding his teeth, as Brian and Hiro sat calmly with their hands lying on the table laced together.

"Akira and I had discovered that BK201's Doll had been spying on us through the pipes underneath us, but now there is emptiness all around us here," spoke up Mito. "This room should be more secure to keep any Dolls from spying on us."

"Quite intelligent, Mito," said Brian. "So who in the Foreign Affairs do we kill?"

"We are banning that for a while," replied Akira.

"Nani?" questioned Ken. "Why the hell would you two do that?"

"Our attentions need to shift to the bigger threat: BK201," stated Mito.

"BK201?" questioned Brian.

"Hai. We find and kill him, and then we can take care of Section-Chief Kirihara's partners with ease."

No one spoke as they pondered on the subject.

"All right," spoke up Brian. "_That old man _should be pleased we're off the Foreign Affair's case for a while."

"Tsk, why do you care what _he _thinks?" questioned Ken. "_He's _our little puppet anyways!"

"And that puppet is someone not to underestimate, Ken," pointed out Hiro. "He may do what we tell him to do, but if we overstep things, he might slit our throats."

"Nonsense! He answers to us!"

"ENOUGH!" shouted Mito. Everyone looked towards him. "Enough of this bickering! Now, we will pour all our resources into finding BK201 from now on: understood?"

Everyone nodded.

xxx

Hiro sat on a bench in the Meji shrine park on a beautiful day, as a wedding couple exited the shrine smiling. A Buddhist monk guided them down the stone ground, praying for the young couple to have a blessed life. Tourist took pictures of them, which made the bride blush at the crowd. Hiro smiled at the ceremony, as his contact, dressed in ragged brown clothes that reeked of feces, sat next to him while the Buddhist monk began to sing.

"You got the information on Contractors?" asked the ragged man.

"Some," said Hiro, handing over a Portable USB Drive. "The Foreign Affairs has some information on Contractors thanks to BK201."

"Can you get the information?"

"Not without blowing my cover. You'd need to get someone in there yourself."

"All right. I know the perfect person for the job too. HR123."

"How are you going to get him in?"

"Don't worry about it. What about Pandora? How long until they get their machine up and running?"

"From what I've heard, six to eight months since they're working around the clock."

"Do you know why Akira and Mito are pushing to get it done since it won't do any good without the sun's solar flares?"

"No clue, and I think they won't tell us because they don't trust us."

"I don't blame them," smiled the ragged man. "As I see it and know how the Syndicate acts, they have no patience and demand everything done as soon as possible."

"The same thing with you Americans, and you guys don't like coming in second." Hiro smiled, as he kept his eyes on the wedding party.

"Tsk, bold move, Hiro. Watch your tongue or I'll have one of my spies kill you."

"And then you'll have to explain to the Embassy why you did that. Anyways, the Saturn System would have been done within four to five months if Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki had not stuck her nose into things."

"Commander Kirihara Naoyasu's daughter?" The ragged man asked peculiarly. "Why would she care if Pandora was up and running?"

"That question has been filtering around the Syndicate like a foul stench you can't get rid of," Hiro muttered, as the newly weds passed by. "I'm sending one of the Syndicate's agents into the Foreign Affairs to talk with Hourai as a lawyer. Maybe he can lighten up on the subject."

The ragged man snorted.

"You think you'll get anything out of him?" he asked.

"Not sure," Hiro replied while shaking his head.

"Whatever."

The ragged man stood and walked off without looking back.

xxx

Hei watched Yin try to find a way to spy on the Syndicate. They had gotten wind of what Yin had been doing, which irritated him. He worried the Syndicate was going to try and assassinate one of the Foreign Affair's agents, and he feared it was going to be Misaki.

He reminisced on when he had said Li was dead to her. It was true in his mind since him and Misaki lived two separate lives and they could never have a happy life together.

Yin distracted his thoughts as she pulled out her hand from the pan and looked over at Hei, shaking her head. He nodded his reply.

Suddenly, his front door busted open. Hei looked over at it and saw two men standing in it. One was a plumped man who was smiling, which made it seem like his zits were puffier than they should be. His partner was big and bulky with an obscured coconut head, and his hands were shaped like hammers. Hei figured the hammer hands were the things that knocked down his door.

The bulky man's hands turned into blades. He charged at Hei and Yin in which Hei had to throw Yin out of the way, as a blade came slicing downwards, and rolled under a horizontal attack toward his closet.

He quickly slid open the closet door, grabbed two of his blades, and blocked the bulky man's downward attack. Hei easily blocked a horizontal attack, and then shocked the bulky man to make him fly backwards from the sudden energy burst.

Hei cursed for using his ability and figured the Foreign Affairs were going to send a unit soon.

He looked over at the plumped sized man and wondered why he wasn't attacking? Was he waiting for the right opportunity to strike, or was it something else?

Hei checked to make sure Yin was behind him, which she was, as the bulky man stood while shaking away the tingling feeling he was experiencing from Hei's ability. The bulky man glared devilishly and charged at Hei again. Hei blocked a bunch of powerful and reckless swings, which took all his strength not to be knocked over.

Sirens could be heard in the distance.

Having enough of the insanely offensive attacks, Hei recalled on his powers into his blades, and shocked the bulky man as he touched them. He cursed while backing off to gather his bearings.

The sirens grew louder every second, making Hei a little worried that he was going to have to deal with the Foreign Affairs as well.

"Time to get out of here, Sloth," said his partner.

"What 'bout BK, Chunk?" the man named Sloth asked stupidly.

"Forget about him, let's go!"

Sloth depressingly frowned and ran off with his partner. Hei grabbed his stuff out of his closet, threw on his black coat and mask, and then took Yin's hand to guide her out of the apartment.

They escaped as a blue Porsche pulled up.

Misaki exited her car to see a man in a black coat swing off with someone. She guessed it had to be Li and wondered who the person was with him.

Saitou and Kouno arrived moments later and scanned the area for activity.

"Forget it, guys," spoke up Misaki. "I just saw BK201 split, and I don't think SL985 is around."

"Really?" asked Saitou. "Chief, why didn't you go after him?"

"Dunno," Misaki lied.

"Yamato isn't going to be happy," replied Kouno.

"I know," stated Misaki, as she glared at Kouno with her arms crossed. "Let me worry about that."

"All right!" Kouno said displeased from the lashing he received. He relinquished the feeling and asked, "So who do you think started it?"

"I'm not sure, but I find it strange that Kanami had reported CK158 had been active around Ikebukuro, and then a half an hour later SL985 and BK201 appear. Something's not right?"

Misaki, Kouno, and Saitou walked over to the Landlord's office and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, a man the size of a sumo wrestler answered the door eating a greasy burger filled with over flowing lettuce and tomatoes.

"Sorry to bother you, but did you happen to see two Contractors fighting around here making noise?" asked Misaki.

"No, the only noise I hear is in the morning," replied the huge man. "It's usually the resident, Heng Kwong, who moved in not too long ago. He's got a really hungry appetite, worse than mine, but he never shows it."

Misaki twitched from the man's comment.

"What is his room number?" she asked, surprising her partners.

"Second floor, room 201," replied the huge man.

Misaki ran from the office, causing Saitou and Kouno to call out what was the deal, but she ignored them as she hurried up the stairs and over to the room. She found the door had been knocked inwards, and noticed somewhat of a mess.

The room was rather empty, the tatami had been damaged along with the walls, and there had been ten bowls piled in a water-filled sink. Misaki then realized a closet was open and checked it to see a couple of white masks and knives lying inside.

Saitou and Kouno entered moments later.

"What is it, Chief?" asked Saitou.

"BK201." Misaki said quietly. "He… he lived here."

"Nani, BK201 lived here?" replied Saitou. "This is great. We may be able to get a description of him. I'll go around and ask his neighbors."

"All right," Misaki agreed with Saitou, but deep down inside she hoped he wouldn't find out anything.

**Darker than Black**

Sloth and Chunk entered a rundown secluded apartment in Ikebukuro, and stepped into a murky room on the ground floor. The walls were covered in mold; the floor blanketed from thick dust, and depleted couches with their springs popping out of the cushions that had been left behind.

A stained ceiling light shined down on a lean man, half the size of Chunk, with black hair.

"You kill him and the Doll?" he asked.

"Yeah, we killed him, Mouth," replied Chunk.

Mouth frowned at them both, as Sloth pulled out a Baby Ruth and started eating to fulfill his obeisance

"Your obeisance is to lie, so you didn't, damn it!" replied Mouth. "We wait a while to attack BK201 and the Doll."

"But why, we can take them on!"

Mouth narrowed his eyes at him and said, "You are so dumb."

Four Months after Hell's Gate:

Hei and Yin were in a cluttered ramen restaurant sitting on a stool in front of bar. On the other side the employees were busy cooking and serving their customers over the counter. Hei was devouring his twentieth serving as Yin sat watching him patiently. A waitress miserably took the empty bowls and headed into the back room.

The Syndicate had concentrated on him and Yin, forcing them to split a few times already from their new apartments, and making Hei want to know how the Contractors were finding them.

Hei finished his meals, paid his bill, exited the ramen store with Yin, and headed home. They walked down a few blocks when suddenly Hei felt they were in danger.

"HEY YOU GUYS!" shouted someone from a dark alley next to them.

Hei threw Yin to the ground with him, as a sledged hammer-like thing flew at his head. He looked up to see the same Contractors as before walk out from the shadows.

"How are you finding us?" asked Hei.

The coconut man smiled to show he had a few teeth and spluttered, "Chunk have 'bility ta find anyone anywhere."

"No, I don't, Sloth!" shouted the zit-faced man.

"Yeah you do."

"No, I don't!"

"But Chunk, you… oh, Sloth forgot you lie."

Sloth highlighted in blue to turn his hands into blades and began attacking Hei. Hei dodged the attacks while Yin ran off to where it was safe. He was in a dire situation since his blades were back at the apartment, and fighting Sloth was a difficult situation.

Hei blocked against his opponent's arm with his left arm, and used his free hand to punch Sloth in the face, making him stumble back. Hei performed a roundhouse kick, but Sloth grabbed his leg and flung him into a parked car, denting the driver's side door, and shattering the window as the alarm went off.

Hei moved out of the way, as Sloth thrust his transfigured blade at him, and got it stuck in the door. Hei placed his right hand on the car and sent a shock wave through it, causing Sloth to scream and yank his weapon out.

"You hurt Sloth with electricity," he said. "Sloth hate it!"

Sloth swung powerfully at Hei, which Hei ducked, and then dodged right from an upward strike. He cart wheeled over another aimed at his feet.

"Hold still so Sloth can kill you, and I can eat Baby Ruth!" pouted Sloth.

"Sorry, but I'd like to stay alive and end the Syndicate's tyranny," replied Hei.

"No, Sloth won't let you. Syndicate give Sloth Baby Ruths!"

Sloth brought his right hand up, and then swung it at Hei's head, but Hei grabbed the blade with the palm of his hands, surprising the two Contractors, and electrocuted Sloth. Sloth screamed out from the shock, allowing Hei to grab his forehead, throw him down, and called on his ability to knock his opponent out.

He looked over at the other Contractor in which he began to panic and peed his pants.

"You… you best run, or… or I'll kill you," stuttered Chunk.

Hei ignored the trivial threat and approached the petrified Contractor.

Chunk shrieked in fright while turning around to run, but slipped and fell a few times before bolting. Hei swiftly ran after him, passing him in a split second, and kicked him square in the face, breaking his nose to where blood sputtered out of it. Chunk flew backwards a few meters and landed on his back. He shriveled in fear as Hei placed his hand on his head and electrocuted him to knock him out.

xxx

Misaki stood in the area where BK201 had fought two Contractors. SL985 had let slip about CK158's ability, which had explained that he had looked for their opponents, and then attacked him. Kouno and Saitou were securing them while she questioned the residence.

"No, I didn't see anything," said a waitress. "I was washing dishes at my work from a guy who eats like a horse."

"Nani?" questioned Misaki, knowing the girl was talking about Li. "Did he ever give you his name or say where he was living?"

"No, but the girl he was with kept on calling him Hei."

Misaki's heart became heavy and filled with jealousy from the waitress's comment. Li was with another woman, and it sounded like she was younger than her. How long had they been together? Were they with each other before Hell's Gate, or did they meet sometime afterward, and how far along were they in their relationship?

"Chief, we're ready to ship off the prisoners," spoke up Saitou.

"All right, go ahead," replied Misaki. She looked back at the waitress, as Saitou and Kouno dealt with the Contractors. "Eh, isn't there an apartment not far from here?"

"Hai, just around the block."

Misaki bowed her thanks and headed to where the waitress had mentioned to see a four-story apartment complex. She walked up to the office door, knocked on it, and was met by a young woman.

"Hello, I'm wondering if you have a guest here that is Chinese?" she asked.

"Jackie Chun?" questioned the young lady. "Hai, but you just missed him. He and the girl he was with turned in their keys ten minutes ago and left."

Misaki stared at her flabbergasted. She ran back to where Saitou and Kouno were putting Chunk and his partner into a van.

"Wait!" Misaki shouted. "Find and tell me where BK201 is right now?"

Chunk glowed blue and thought for a minute.

"He's in Harajuku at the shrine," said Chunk finally.

Misaki jumped in her car and raced over to it. Her heart pounded heavily since she was finally going to see him again, but she also feared to see this young woman that was with him.

Within minutes she pulled up to the shrine and bolted into it. Misaki ran past a stack of sake bottles, and under the gateway into the shrine. She scanned the area, but to her luck he wasn't around.


	9. Chapter 9

Darker than Black

Darker than Black

Chapter nine: Gathering

Hiro sat outside a McDoness restaurant on a cloudy afternoon eating a burger near Hiro-o station. There was a heavy breeze blowing through the city, making the trees dance and forcing pedestrians to hold onto their hats they wore. The sun peered through a gap in the clouds for a few minutes before disappearing behind them and making the air cooler.

There were couples sitting around him, busy at eating their own meal and gossiping about things. Teenage girls dressed in their school uniforms, no doubt skipping class, were laughing about a nerd at their school getting pulverized by a senior. One couple thought they were annoying and moved across from them.

The McDoness's sliding glass door opened. His contact exited the restaurant and walk over to sit at an empty table with his back to Hiro. He took a bite of his food, chewed it a few times, and then swallowed.

"The American Embassy was able to build a device that can copy Contractor's powers successfully," the contact said.

Hiro choked on a piece of burger and asked startled, "Really? They test it yet?"

"No, they plan on testing it tomorrow at the party they are having for important bureaucrats."

"I heard about that. The place is just south of us. I wondered why they didn't invite MI-6?"

"Because the Embassy is only picking a select group, like the Foreign Affairs, the Astronomy Division, and a few other companies. They don't want any other groups that use Contractors to be involved. Don't try to sneak in Hiro. One, you need an invitation, and two, you have to have a date with you."

Hiro munched on his last piece of burger and swallowed it.

"Why wait to do it at a party?" he asked. "Why not now?"

"The energy supply," muttered his contact with a mouth full of food. "It takes up too much power. With all the power being abstracted from the party, it should be hidden."

"Tsk, why not try it at Area 51?"

The ragged man choked on his burger, and then spit it out.

"There is no Area 51, Hiro: at least not anymore," he coughed out.

The ragged man finished his meal, stood from the table, and walked off to turn right at the corner. The teenagers noticed him and laughed to themselves concerning his appearance. Hiro frowned at the whole discussion and devoured his fries. After gobbling them down, he too left.

As he reached the Hiro-o plaza, someone suddenly came up behind him and pointed a gun into his back. He wanted to turn around to see who it was, but the person pressed harder on his back for him not to. A van pulled up before them with its side door opening.

"Get in," the man demanded.

Hiro recognized the voice belonging to the agent who had passed information to and from Huang. Hiro guessed the Syndicate had Huang's former contact follow him, which made him wonder what he had done to make himself so suspicious.

Hiro let the thought go and entered the van.

xxx

Yin had been watching the Higher-ups of the Syndicate like Hei had asked, hoping to get information, but she had gotten nothing. She had been following them around for weeks with no luck, only getting trivial information, and finding out that Ken sang in the shower. Hei was about to give up when Yin had said that Hiro was meeting with a ragged man.

Yin had kept on following him in hopes of getting information, and they were astounded to hear Hiro was a double agent.

After a week of tailing him, she followed Hiro to a McDoness, where she watched from a teenager's soda cup talking with the ragged man, and narrated to Hei what they were saying.

Hiro stood to leave in which Yin followed, appearing out of soda drinks, and puddles left behind from the morning rain.

"Ah," muttered Yin.

"What is it, Yin?" asked Hei. "Someone spot you?"

Yin shook her head and replied with, "The Syndicate knows he's a double agent. They just took him into custody." She pulled her hand out of the water and looked over at him. "What now, Hei?"

Hei didn't say a word for the longest time, as he pondered on the situation.

"We sneak into the American Embassy," he finally said.

xxx

Hiro was tide up in a chair in a dark secluded room with the Syndicate watching. They had been interrogating him for an hour, having an untidy-haired man snap five of his fingers, taking swings at his face like it was a punching bag, and cutting his arm to pour salt on it.

He had a cut lip, two black eyes with his right swollen the size of a baseball, and blood seeping down his chin to drip onto his shirt and pants.

The untidy-haired man grabbed Hiro's index finger and snapped it, causing him to scream out in pain.

"Who do you work for?" asked the untidy-haired man.

"You guys," replied Hiro, making the untidy-haired man sock him.

"Whom are you working for as a double agent?"

Hiro said nothing, irritating the interrogator and socking Hiro again.

He laughed and looked at the Syndicate with his some-what-good eye and said, "Do whatever you want with me, blow me for all I care, you're not getting a word out of me."

"Oh, I think we will," replied Mito, and then motioned for someone to step forward.

Hiro panicked when Jurai walk into the light. He was a skin-boned man with dry mangled hair, and hollow eyes that seemed to pop out of his eye sockets. He looked like death itself. Hiro knew there was no way of keeping his mouth shut since Jurai could make anyone tell the truth.

"No, get away from me, freak!" shouted Hiro.

Jurai placed his right hand on Hiro's head, outlined in blue as his eyes burned red, and then asked, "Whom do you work for as a double-agent, Hiro-san?"

Hiro tried to fight it, but he couldn't and said, "The American Embassy."

"What were you and the ragged man talking about at McDoness?"

Uncontrollably Hiro told them about the Embassy building a device, and testing it at the party tomorrow night.

"_The _party?" questioned Mito.

"Hai," nodded Hiro. "That's all I know."

Jurai removed his hand, walked over to a corner, and stuck his finger in his mouth.

"Not down here!" shouted Ken, as Jurai performed his obeisance and threw up his food. "Ah, gross! Clean that mess up now!"

Jurai nodded and went to get cleaning supplies, as the stench filled the room.

"So what now?" asked Brian.

No one spoke as they thought of what to do. Jurai returned with cleaning supplies, kneeled in front of his mess to clean it up, and threw up again from the smell. He finished a couple of minutes later, and then walked out of the room.

"We send in ML921 and KH504 to sneak into the party," Mito ended the silence.

"Our best agents?" questioned Ken.

"Hai."

"You two don't agree with this, do you?" Ken asked as he turned to look at Brian and Akira.

"I do, and I'm sure you agree too," said Brain to Akira.

"That I do," said Akira.

"And what do you want to do with Hiro? Kill him?"

Hiro gulped in fright.

"No, that's too easy," stated Mito. "Wipe his whole memory clean and throw him on the streets."

xxx

Misaki sat in the conference room with Saitou to her left; Kunio to her right, Kouno across from her, and Ootsuka next to him.

She wondered if they were going to have another lecture for something they had failed at. Yamato was losing his patience with the whole team about their consistency of being a few seconds late at capturing Li, or him slipping through their fingers due to Misaki's feelings for him.

The conference door opened to reveal Yamato entering and sitting before everyone. He leaned back in his chair and pursed his lips.

"I had called you all here because I was informed a half an hour ago that we were invited to a party by the American Embassy," he said. "I agreed to the terms and spoke for all of you."

The Foreign Affair members started muttering to each other.

"But, sir, I can't miss my show tomorrow," spoke up Ootsuka. "The main characters are supposed to kiss for the first time."

"Then Tivo it."

"Sir, we need to keep one of us on alert just incase there is Contractor activity," pointed out Kunio.

"Don't worry about that, Matsumoto. I'll have a few detectives on that."

"But, sir, they're not as experienced as we are," stated Kouno.

"That's enough! You all are to be present at the party and looking your best too. That means a gown of some-sort. And I'm not talking about what girls wear in Harajuku, Ootsuka!"

"But I don't have anything like that!" pointed out Ootsuka.

"Then buy one tomorrow since I'm giving you all the day off to look for a decent outfit."

"Nani?" Misaki questioned. "But, sir, we can't take the day off: at least not all of us!"

"All five of you are, and one other thing; they require you to have a date with you, or they won't let you in."

Misaki jumped at the mention of having a date. She knew Li would be the only one who would want to be her date, which told Misaki she wouldn't be able to attend.

"The party will start at eight o'clock. That is all," finished Yamato, and stood to leave.

Everyone sat quietly in the room as they thought on what their commander had said.

"Ootsuka, want to go with me?" Kouno asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh, I was figuring of asking Matsumoto-san," replied Ootsuka with a smile.

Kunio coughed while blushing and said, "I'm taking my wife."

Ootsuka giggled and said, "Just kidding, I'll go with you, Kouno."

"Yata!" shouted Kouno, as he threw his fist in the air. "I'll pick you up at seven-thirty."

The team exited the conference room and sat down at their desk. Misaki began to think about searching every ramen stores and fast food restaurants in Tokyo, hoping to find Li to ask him if he would like to go with her to the party.

"Eh, Chief?" Saitou's voice came from behind Misaki. She turned to look up at him and noticed he was blushing. "I was wondering, if… if… you would like to go to the party with me?"

Misaki blinked at him curiously, and then remembered Saitou didn't have a girlfriend, or anyone else to ask to be his date for the party. Knowing she wouldn't find Li in time for the party, she said, "Hai."

Saitou's face turned redder and tried to walk over to his desk, but he ended up tripping over his feet. Misaki sighed at his clumsiness and hoped he wouldn't lose his composure tomorrow night.

"Maybe I could get lucky like Gai and find Li-kun?" questioned Misaki to herself.

xxx

"Echoo!" sneezed Gai in his office, and fell backwards on his head.

"Ore, are you allright?" asked Kiko, as she looked up from her Manga from the couch.

"Eh, I think I might be catching a cold," he said.

She snorted while looking back down at her book and said, "Or someone is talking behind your back?"

Gai straightened up his chair and glared at Kiko saying, "And who would be talking bad about me?"

"Everyone you worked for."

Gai narrowed his eyes at her, as he pursed his lips, and muttered to himself, "Flat chest."

xxx

Misaki entered her apartment, sat on her couch, and called Kanami. A few seconds later, there was an answer on the other end.

"_Hello,_" said Kanami's voice.

"Kanami, it's Misaki," she replied.

"_Misaki! I heard you're going to the American Embassy party. Certain employees were picked to go at my work, and I am one of them."_

"Who are you going with?" asked Misaki.

"_A co-worker_. _And you?_"

"Saitou."

"_You're going with Saitou? That's going to make working with him hard tomorrow."_

"Yamato gave all of us the day off to shop for decent clothes tomorrow."

"_Really?" _Kanami's voice sounded excited, causing Misaki to frown and know what her best friend was about to say._ "Well, that calls for me to take the day off and help you shop for clothes to wear._"

"Kanami, no!" Misaki shouted in the phone.

"_Misaki, do you have anything presentable besides your work suit?_"

Misaki was cringing now. She was going to spend the whole day tomorrow doing something she loathed.

"N—No," she replied with.

"_Then it's settled," _stated Kanami. "_I'll see you tomorrow morning at eight-thirty."_

"Eight-thirty? Why so early?"

"_Because my favorite store opens at nine and we'll just make it in time to be the first shoppers."_

Misaki could picture her best friend smiling gleefully after she had said that, making Misaki cringe even more.

**Darker than Black**

Saitou was wearing a tuxedo and holding a dozen roses, as he stepped from his car and walked into Misaki's apartment complex. He entered the elevator, rode it up to her floor, and exited when the door slid open. Saitou stepped before her door, straightened his tie, and knocked.

Moments later Kanami answered the door, showing that she was wearing a blue Yukata decorated with old style drawings of women, and her hair done up. Her date, standing inside waiting patiently, was a short slumped man wearing a tuxedo with rectangular glasses.

"Saitou's here, Misaki," Kanami said over her shoulder.

"A—all right, let him in, Kanami," replied Misaki, sounding timid.

Kanami ushered Saitou in the somewhat spacious room. He stood nervously waiting for Misaki, as he pulled on his tie to loosen it. Footsteps approached from his left in which he looked towards it, and saw his date rounding the corner blushing in a pink Yukata decorated with sakuras falling from a tree. Her brown eyes seemed more radiant without her glasses, and her hair tied up gave her a feminine look he had only seen at Alice's party.

Saitou's mouth dropped from her beauty and felt his cheeks blushing.

"Chief, you look… marvelous," he stuttered.

Misaki glanced down at the floor, and then looked back at Saitou to say, "Arigatou, and you can call me Misaki tonight."

"Ah. Oh, I forgot, these are for you."

Saitou handed her roses in which Misaki took and sniffed them smiling.

"They smell wonderful," she replied.

"I'll put those in water," spoke up Kanami, as she took the roses and placed them in a vase. "Shall we go?"

Misaki sat in the passenger seat of Saitou's car, feeling naked wearing the summer Kimono since Kanami had prevented her from wearing a bra. The contact lenses in her eyes were irritating her, and she sat uncomfortably in the seat from the sash's knot, making her wonder how certain women could dress in them. Misaki thought they were beautiful, but she found it impossible to run in the Kimono and wooden sandals.

Saitou had sweat pouring down his reddened cheek, as he tried to keep his eyes on the road. Once in a while he would glance over at her, and then quickly looked away. Misaki tried to think of something to say, but no words came to mind.

Twenty minutes later they arrived at New Sano in Hiro-o. It had once been a hotel for Military visitors, but after the explosion the Americans had made the building their new Embassy. Saitou pulled into the driveway, was guided through an archway, and rounded the circular brick road to stop in front of a chauffer.

Saitou exited the car and rounded it to open up the door for Misaki and helped her out. The chauffer entered Saitou's vehicle to park it along the street. Kanami and her date followed Saitou and Misaki in.

A security guard stopped the guest at the front sliding door and scanned them. He stepped before Misaki to motion his metal detector along her figure, and then over her purse, which it beeped.

"All firearms must be left here, miss," said the guard, speaking Nihon-jin poorly.

"Nani?" questioned Misaki. "But what if something happens? I won't be able to protect myself."

"Sorry, miss, those are the rules."

"All right, all right."

Misaki miserably handed over her gun to the security guard and entered the former hotel. The lobby was a spacious room with a restaurant across it, which she figured they were going to be guided over to, but instead they were led to the left, passing a security desk to step before two elevators.

One of the doors opened, allowing the two couples to step into it, and were ascended to the top floor. The elevator door opened to a harmonious sound in a vast room with western style carpet and a chandelier above. Men that were gathered in the room wore black tuxedos mixed in with the different colors from women's dresses. A live band played before a wide sized dance floor where four-dozen guests gathered around. A bar lay against the right side wall.

Misaki was astounded since the top floor should have had rooms for guests, but they must have gotten rid of them so they could construct a wondrous ballroom.

"Finally made it," said Yamato, as he walked up to them with a woman beside him. She looked to be the same age as he, and bore a purple dress with her black hair tide back in a ponytail. "This is my wife, Sakura."

"How do you do," said Sakura while bowing.

The two couples returned the bow.

"The bar is on the house so treat yourselves to anything you want, unless you are driving," stated Yamato.

Yamato and his wife walked off into the crowd. Moments later Kunio, his wife, Kouno, and Ootsuka walked up to them. Ootsuka was blushing in a blue chest cut gown, and Kunio's wife, an elegant looking woman with grey hair, was wearing a neck length red dress.

"Misaki, beautiful Yukata!" shouted Kouno.

"It fits you wonderfully," said Kunio's wife.

"Yamato and his wife already arrived," blushed Ootsuka.

"We've ran into him already," replied Misaki.

"Oh. How about we get a drink?"

"Sounds good to me." Misaki's voice quivered.

"Chie… Eh, Misaki-san, I didn't know you drank?" questioned Saitou.

"Of course I do. Didn't you see me drink at Alice's party?"

"Oh, I forgot about that, Misaki-san."

Misaki sighed while saying, "Just call me Misaki, Saitou."

"S-sorry, Misaki-san… eh, Misaki."

The couples walked over to the bar and ordered a drink. Misaki asked for a mixed drink and guzzled it down her throat to wash away her uneasiness. She ordered another one, downed it, and gestured for a third. Kanami frowned and pulled Misaki away from the bar with their party following into the crowd to gossip with other guest.

Misaki paid no attention of what was said, unconditionally downing her drink, and slipping away from her group to get another.

Twenty minutes into the party, and several mixed drinks, Misaki noticed her father with a younger beautiful woman. She felt betrayal overflow her inside from her father being in the presence of someone half his age, and clumsily walk over to him. Suddenly, Kanami snatched her right arm, and pulled her back to make her stumble.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To talk with my father," Misaki slurred.

Kanami looked pass the guests where Misaki's father stood. Her eyes widen slightly, as the corner of her lip dropped.

"Misaki, let it be," she pleaded while looking back at her friend. "She's just probably someone to get him in the party."

"He could have found someone his own age."

"Misaki, you're not thinking right. The alcohol is doing all the talking."

"So be it! I have the right to say something to him since I'm his daughter, and she's about my age!"

Kanami stared at her for a minute before letting go of Misaki so she could hastily and clumsily approach him. Her father sensed her presence and glanced over at her, as she stood before him.

"Misaki?" he doubtfully asked.

"Hai," she responded.

"Really, I didn't recognize you without your glasses," he smiled cheerfully.

"Who is she?" Misaki asked, her voice betraying of how she felt.

Her father stared at her shocked from her outburst, but smiled it off and said, "My co-worker and my way into this party."

"I don't believe you, Otosan. Who is she really to you?"

Her father's expression turned a serious look and said, "Kirihara Misaki, that was a little uncalled for! I thought I taught you better manners than that, but I guess you being drunk has made you forget your discipline! She is nothing more than someone whom needed a date to get in this party, as did I if you recall I am single!"

Misaki opened her mouth to respond, but she suddenly felt childish for her actions and looked down at the carpet.

"S—sorry," Misaki said bashfully.

"It's quite all right, Misaki-san," replied the young woman. "My name is Hayamaru Megumi." She bowed. Misaki sheepishly returned it. "Your father has talked so much about you."

"Really? I hope good things?"

"Only, Misaki," replied her father, forgetting Misaki's rudeness as he smiled again. "Shall we get something to eat, Megumi?"

"Hai, Naoyasu-sama," replied Megumi.

Misaki twitched slightly from the woman referring to her father as "_sama,"_ while they walked off. She felt uncertainty towards Megumi, and believed there was more to it than her father had let on.

Misaki decided to start drinking water and refrained from getting any more mixed drinks so she could sober up a little. Her eyes kept on drifting over to her father and his date, noticing her getting a little too friendly with him, and wanted to give her another piece of her mind.

Suddenly, Misaki caught something in the corner of her right eye and noticed the back of a man with shoulder length black hair. A young woman standing next to him had silver hair that fell down to her waist, and wore a black dress.

Misaki's heart skipped a beat while she stared at the man she knew as Li, and the girl he was living with named Yin, but what were they doing here? She started fighting her way through the crowd towards them, knocking a few guest's drinks from their hands and irritating them, only to lose site of the couple. She scanned the area, but they were nowhere to be seen.

Suddenly, someone walked up behind her and placed what felt like a gun to her back, as he whispered softly, "Don't move."

Misaki tensed from the position she was in. How clumsy she was to let someone sneak up behind her. She blamed it on the alcohol and her feelings for Li.

"How'd… how'd you get in with a gun?" she asked quietly.

"Turn around slowly," is what he said next.

Misaki did what was asked, and then stared flabbergasted into Li's blue eyes. He wore a spiffy tuxedo that was snug around his shoulder, which showed off the shape of his muscular chest. She had seen him dressed up before, but to see him as he was made her quiver at how handsome he looked.

"Li… kun?" she questioned mostly to herself.

"Would you care for a dance?" he asked with a slight smile.

Misaki looked at him baffled from him asking that question. Suddenly, the thought of Li holding her sent goose bumps down her spine and up her arms, making her shiver slightly, and hoped he didn't notice.

"Ha—hai," she muttered.

Li led Misaki into the center of the dance floor to hide them from her colleagues, took a hold of her right hand with his left, wrapped his arms around her waist, and began to lead. She felt squeamish in his arms, making her cheeks redden, and shyly avert her eyes away from his, but she also felt safe.

"Where… where did you learn to dance?" Misaki asked.

"Someone I once cared for taught me," Li replied.

"Y—your… sister?"

"No, another woman. Her name was Amber."

Jealousy overwhelmed her to hear Li say he had been with another woman, and wondered if he still had deep feelings for her. Misaki wanted to ask, but thought best not to for his and her own sake.

"Wh—what are you doing here?" Misaki asked instead.

"The American's are planning something," he said.

"Eh?" Misaki looked into his eyes, as she overpowered her jitters. "Wha—what exactly?"

"Not sure, but I plan on stopping it."

"Li, don't. Let me handle it. I'll tell Yamato that there is something going on."

"And how do you plan on telling him without making him wonder how you got the information?"

"Eh." Misaki pondered.

xxx

Kanami looked around the ballroom trying to find Misaki. She had kept her gaze on her while she talked to her father, but when she glanced away to talk with Ootsuka and looked back she was gone.

Saitou had been talking with Kouno and didn't realize Misaki was missing, which made Kanami start scanning the room in hope to find her before he did. She walked over to ask Yamato if he had seen her, but he had replied no. She didn't think Misaki would be somewhere on the dance floor and kept her eyes off it, but a pink Yukata had caught her attention through the couples dancing. Kanami's shoulders tightened as she began to walk over to her friend, but stopped in her tracks to see she was in Li's arms.

For the first time Misaki looked at ease with him, as if Li had absorbed all the negative feelings that had bottled up inside her. She had never seen her friend look so at peace, even during their time in school. Kanami marveled at them since it seemed they would make a wonderful couple.

"Kanami, what are you staring at?" asked Saitou.

Kanami quickly turned around, trying to block Saitou's view from his date dancing with Li, and said hysterically, "Nothing!"

"Nothing? It seemed you were stunned at seeing something?"

Saitou tried to look around her, but Kanami kept on blocking his view while waving her hands and said, "Oh, no, no, no. I was just watching the couples dancing."

"Oh, all right. Well, I'm going back over to the bar to see if Misaki's over there."

Kanami nodded and watched Saitou work around the crowd. She turned her attention towards Misaki and Li, but she had lost sight of them. She hoped her friend knew what she was doing.

xxx

Misaki had her head on his chest, not wanting to pull away. She had dreamt sleepless nights of Li holding her in his arms, and now he was fulfilling her dreams for the second time. The first was when she had cried in his arms after he had saved her, and now he held her while they danced.

"Misaki," he muttered into her ear. She looked up into his eyes baffled for using her given name. "You look beautiful."

Misaki's eyes widened in surprise, and then found him pushing her away from him, and spun her around to vanish before her eyes. Her heart began to ache again, making her wish there was a switch to turn the feeling off, as she hopelessly looked for Li. Suddenly, a man standing next to a woman caught her attention, and recognized him as ML921.

She went for her gun, but remembered it was confiscated and cursed. Misaki spotted her commander standing a few meters away next to his wife. She hastily approached him, bumping into guest.

"ML921 is here," she said while stepping before Yamato.

He looked at her puzzled and asked, "Really, where?"

She pointed over to ML921 and his date. Yamato walked over to a guard to inform them they have a breech in their security. As if they were found out, ML921 and his date exited the room with Misaki following. She lost sight of them, but heard an emergency door close.

Misaki was about to follow, but someone grabbed her arm.

"Don't think so, Misaki," said Yamato, standing next to a security guard. "Not without backup and a gun."

He handed her a nine-millimeter fully loaded.


	10. Chapter 10

Darker than Black

Chapter Ten: A Kiss Goodbye

**Day after Misaki's kidnapping:**

The near death experience Mito had faced from BK201 yesterday had put him on edge, making him pace his office that was dimly lit by a lamp on his desk, as he rubbed the wound BK201 had left on his neck. He was grateful to be alive, but it was also humiliating. The only thing that he was pleased about was that his window had been fixed immediately.

His best agent, ML921, had been lucky to use his ability just as Misaki impaled him with BK201's knife, but the embarrassment had pierced his pride. He had pledged to make her pay for his shame.

Mito grabbed a glass of whiskey on ice and drank it. He began to think of ways to capture Section-Chief Kirihara again in order to kill BK201 and stay alive, but how were they going to do it successfully?

There was a knock at his door.

"It's unlocked," Mito said.

It eerily creaked opened. A short man slowly entered and walked into the light to stop where his face was still in the shadows. Mito frowned at him while taking a sip of his whiskey.

"I was waiting for you to show up," said Mito bluntly after swallowing his drink.

"You and the Syndicate had a lot of nerves to kidnap Misaki behind my back," the shadow-figured man stated.

"Don't you dare lecture me!" barked Mito, as he slammed the glass on his desk, splattering his drink all over his paper work. "She is the key to finding BK201."

"And look what had happened, Mito. It got you nothing and almost cost the Syndicate their best agent. One other thing: what would you have done to her after you killed BK201?"

Mito leaned on his desk with his arms supporting him up, as he narrowed his eyes at the figured man to say, "You know exactly what we would have done."

The shadow-figured man didn't speak, but Mito knew his face was burning with hatred, which enlightened his mood.

"I warn you now, Mito," threatened the shadow-figured man. "Don't you or your lackeys ever attempt to kidnap her again, or you _will_ face my wrath."

"Don't you dare threaten us!" snorted Mito. "You are just a puppet, and you do what we tell you, or have you forgotten?"

The figured man pulled out a revolver and pointed it at Mito. Mito tensed as he stared down the barrel and feared to see a bullet fly from it.

"I might be a puppet," stated the man, as he walked into the light, "but now and then my strings you pull end up snapping."

Mito gulped slightly, as sweat ran down the side of his face while staring at a devilish looking Kirihara Naoyasu. Naoyasu stopped before Mito with the gun a meter away from his face.

"Bold move, Kirihara," Mito said bluntly, but fear had echoed from it.

"Don't underestimate me, Mito," threatened Kirihara through clenched teeth. "Misaki is all I have left after her mother had died, and I will risk my own life to save my daughter if I have to."

Mito blinked at him confused from his words, and then started to laugh.

"What a joke, Naoyasu!" Mito smiled devilishly. "Misaki is all you have left? We all know the truth about that, and about that woman named Megumi?" Naoyasu's right eye twitched. "What, you didn't think we noticed? What would poor little Misaki say if she knew daddy was fooling around with a woman her own age?"

"If you test me too much, Mito, my finger might flinch more than what it should."

Mito stood silently to see if Naoyasu was bluffing, but he saw only death in his eyes.

"I could have you killed for this," was the only thing he could think of to say, and hoped Naoyasu would give in.

"It doesn't matter to me, as long as she's safe."

They stared at each other, waiting for the other to blink.

"All right," Mito finally caved in sighing. "I will talk with everyone about backing off."

Kirihara held the gun to Mito's face for a few seconds, wondering if the old man was pulling his strings, and disarmed the gun. Kirihara holstered it and turned to leave.

"And don't you dare point that gun at me again, or you will be lying six feet under the ground," Mito said, acting as if he had won the showdown.

Kirihara didn't respond to the comment and walked out of the room.

**Present:**

Saitou had lost sight of Misaki for a brief moment and thought nothing of it, but as minutes passed by he began to wonder where she was and started searching for her. He had saw Kanami watching the dance floor flabbergasted and had asked her what she was looking at. Apparently it was nothing in which he decided to continue his search for his date.

He looked for fifteen minutes with no luck, and wondered if she had gone to the restroom. Saitou walked over to where Kanami was talking with Yamato's wife.

"Oi, Ishizaki, ma'am, do you two know if Misaki went to use the toilet?" he asked.

"I just came from there and I didn't see her," Kanami replied. "In fact, I haven't seen her since…?" Kanami hesitated on her words.

"Since when?"

"Eh, after she left the bar to talk with her father."

"Well," Sakura began "I don't know if it matters, but she came over to my husband and said something about someone being here. He went to go tell a guard and I haven't seen her or my husband since."

"Who was the person?" Saitou asked.

"Misaki didn't give a name, but a code number. I believe he was a Contractor with the number LM129, or something like that."

"A Contractor?" blabbered Kanami and Saitou together.

Saitou looked at her shocked for a few seconds, and then went over to a guard with Kanami following. He asked him if he knew whom Yamato had spoken to.

"My partner," the guard said. "I haven't seen them since, or where they went. Security is on high alert at the moment, but I wouldn't worry over the situation, sir."

Unfortunately, Saitou was concerned when it came to Misaki. A black figure caught the corner of his left eye near the side exit. He decided to check it out, stepping through the door, and stared at an empty hallway. Saitou had had this feeling he was experiencing déjà vu, like he was back at Alice's party as he tried to help Misaki escape. It felt like someone had disappeared out of nowhere.

Misaki and Yamato followed the guard down the stairs after ML921 and his date. Misaki was having difficulty keeping up in her Yukata and sandals, and started lagging behind.

She wondered if what Li had said was the reason why the Syndicate's agents had infiltrated the American Embassy. She thought of how they would be able to arrest the Contractors without the proper equipment, especially at how skilled ML921 was.

Suddenly, the stairs under the guard turned sideways into a slide, causing him to fall on his bottom and turn on his side, as he scratched and clawed at the concrete. Yamato went to grab his arm, but missed in which the guard slipped off and screamed to his death. Misaki came up behind her commander and looked away before the guard came to a sudden stop.

"ML921's power, I take it?" questioned Yamato.

"No, it must be his partner's since he makes a black hole," replied Misaki.

"Really. You think you can jump this?"

"Hai."

Misaki kicked off her sandals, as Yamato jumped the slide. He turned around and waved her to follow, which she complied, and barely made it. They cautiously continued downwards while watching for any more traps. She wondered how far ahead the two Contractors were and hoped she and her commander would catch up soon.

Yamato unexpectedly stopped to where Misaki ran passed him, and then halted to turn around as her eyes widened in shock, noticing his foot had been caught in a black hole. The next thing she saw was the stairs turning into a slide under his feet, forcing Misaki to dive and quickly grab his right arm.

Yamato looked up at her displeased for doing something so foolish and shouted, "Baka, let go before the stairs where you stand turn shape!"

"No," grunted Misaki, struggling to hold onto Yamato's arm.

The stairs under her body changed into a slide, causing her to fall along side her commander. Misaki's heart seemed to stop. Fear of never having Li hold her again coursed through her body, as her life with him flashed before her eyes.

"LIIIII-KUUUUNNN!" she screamed.

Suddenly, a wire wrapped around Misaki's and her commander's waist, and then slowed their descent. Misaki stared wide-eyed and flabbergasted from Li's daring rescue. She tried to look up to see him, but the wire disappeared at the top floor.

"BK201 saved us?" questioned Yamato looking up.

He then glared at her with beady eyes to show he knew BK201 had meant to protect her from harm. She was expecting him to say something, but he kept quiet.

As they drew closer to the ground, the dead guard's body lying awkwardly grew in size. A few moments later their feet touched the ground, allowing the wire to loosen and recoil upwards.

Yamato looked upwards and shouted, "Show yourself!"

Li didn't answer, irritating her commander.

"COWARD!" His voice echoed in the stairway.

Yamato glared at Misaki and gestured with his reddened face for her to follow him into a cluttered garage. They walked over to a door to their right, and stepped through it to find they were in a narrow hallway. Half dozen guards were lying dead from stab wounds, or they had been stuck in the cement like from the movie The Philadelphia Experiment.

"Impossible?" questioned Yamato skeptically.

**Darker than Black**

Misaki and Yamato continued forward, avoiding the men who were begging for help from their graves, and entered the next room with their weapons drawn where men and women had faced the same result. Misaki noticed ML921 and his partner's backs were turned since they were looking through a window with a huge machine in a grand laboratory.

His partner wore a stunning blood red dress that was laced over her shoulder, and shaped to her hourglass figure. Her dark and silky hair hung down to her waist, and her feet were bare, probably because she had ditched a pair of high heels to be more mobile.

She pulled out a piece of tissue from her black leather purse and ate it.

"You'll have to use your power again, so why even bother with your obeisance?" asked ML921.

"Cause it tastes good," replied the woman.

Figuring she could get the drop on ML921, Misaki placed her finger on the trigger and fired, surprising Yamato. Unfortunately, ML921 created a black hole to swallow her shot, making her cringe from the failed attempt.

"Still trying to kill me from behind, Officer Kirihara?" asked ML921, as he turned to face them.

Misaki felt sweat traveling down the side of her face and feared the worse. Surprisingly, Yamato stepped in front of her, aiming his gun, and shot at ML921 only to receive the same result.

"Hey, Tsu, Commander Yamato isn't as smart as he looks," commented the woman. "He should have known not to waste ammo after seeing your ability."

The ground underneath Yamato changed into a liquid substance, causing him to sink into it and then had it hardened with his head and gun hand sticking out. The woman was going to deal with Misaki, but Tsu snatched her arm.

"She's mine," he said and stepped before the woman.

Misaki took a step back, fearing of what the man would do to her, and wondered if she'd see the sunrise. His eyes lit up, but before he could summon his power, a double-edged blade was thrown at him. ML921 didn't have time to swallow the knife with his ability, so he instead used his arm to block it. He looked over to where it had originated from, and then his eyes widened from surprise, as he noticed a wire connected to the blade. Electricity ran through the line and shocked ML921, sending him backwards as the blade was yanked from his arm, and crashed through the window to fall out of sight.

Misaki looked back to stare at Li to see he was wearing his white mask, and his trench coat over his tuxedo. Her heart swelled with joy and started breathing easier.

"BK201!" shouted Yamato.

Li turned his attention to the woman, flung out his wire to dodge the concrete turning into liquid below him, and landed near Yamato. She tried it again, releasing Yamato from his prison, and allowing Li to save him. They soured off and landed next to Misaki.

The woman snorted at Li before hurtling through the shattered window. Li was going to follow, but stopped as Yamato shouted, "FREEZE!" Li turned to look down Yamato's gun. "You're under arrest, BK201, or should I call you Hei?"

The officers and Li stood in silence; the machine's hums were the only thing that could be heard. The air seemed tense to Misaki, as she tried to breathe from the stand off.

"Call me what you like," Li replied moments later.

"Misaki, why aren't you pointing your gun at him?"

Misaki hesitated. She couldn't draw her weapon on the man she was in love with. Noticing her expression, Li turned towards the window, which frustrated Yamato and compelled him to fire.

"NO!" shouted Misaki uncontrollably.

Time seemed to stop for her, as she stretched out for him while thoughts of Li being killed crossed her mind. She imagined holding him in her arms as his life slowly slipped out of the wound her commander had induced, her tears drenching his face while he smiled up at her one last time, and then his eyes diminished as his life slipped away from his body.

Surprisingly, the bullet reflected off his coat, resurfacing a memory of a bullet ricocheting and snapping his wire to destroy his mask and revealing Li's face to her. Misaki wondered why she couldn't remember that day, but guessed it was because of the Syndicate. The only thing she cared about at the moment was that Yamato's bullet hadn't pierced through Li's coat and body.

Her boss was looking at Li surprisingly, as Li hopped through the window after the Contractors. Yamato then turned to look at Misaki displeased.

He said nothing since words were the last thing on his mind.

Hei landed on a catwalk and looked over at the massive machine sitting against the back hall. Three levels of catwalks lined around it with work areas that had tons of buttons to push. The third level had an access extending over from the exit. Two stairwells descended to the ground: one along the front wall, and the other in front of the machine. Two pillars lay center and divided the weight they were to support.

Workers, wearing white coats, were hiding under his or her work area; shaking in fright from the intruders, and flinched when they noticed him.

Hei looked at a quivering male worker and asked, "Where'd they go?"

The worker answered by pointing down to the ground.

"Arigatou."

Hei climbed over the rail and dropped to the ground level. He scanned the misty area in order to find the two Contractors; nauseated that the Syndicate had sent ML921, and disappointed he had not died during their first encounter.

A black hole was thrown at Hei in which he dodged, and threw one of his knives while jumping back as the ground liquefied.

"Impressive, BK201," stated the woman. "May I kill him, Tsu?"

"I would like to kill him, Haruko, but ladies first," replied Tsu.

"I'm far from being a lady, but thank you anyways."

Her brown eyes glowed red. Hei contemplating the floor was about to liquefy again, but he noticed a circular portion of the ceiling plummeting towards him with silver liquid around it. Hei rolled out of the way, as it struck where he stood, shattering into pieces, and destroying a portion of the ground, as the silver liquid spattered everywhere.

A meter of a pillar's bottom and top portion formed into liquid to splash on the ground near Hei, causing the rest of it to fall sideways at him, which he dodged before it ruptured on the floor and shook the ground.

"You're quick, BK201," said Haruko.

She dropped another portion of the ceiling, causing Hei to roll out of the way. He ran along her side in which she created a silver puddle in front of him, but he jumped over it and threw his knife to impale her heart. Haruko dropped to her knees, and then fell forward dead.

ML921 frowned and ran at Hei, using his ability to swallow a knife Hei threw, and started fighting him hand-to-hand. ML921's left cheek was struck hard and stumbled back into the machine. Hei moved in for another attack, but he instead found his foot caught in a black hole. He decided to throw two knives, one being swallowed, and the other impaling Tsu with a wire connected to it. Hei preformed his power, shocking ML921 and the machine.

The machine started acting weird, which made ML921 decide to run, as Misaki and Yamato entered. Misaki ran over to check on Hei, looking terrified that he was trapped in ML921's black hole. Yamato showed no surprise.

"You two need to get out of here!" shouted Hei.

"Not without you!" pleaded Misaki.

Hei took off his mask and looked into her brown eyes.

"Misaki, please," begged Hei while placing his hand on her cheek.

They stared at each other for the longest time, neither of them speaking, as they lost themselves in each other's eyes. How beautiful they were and how calm they felt as he kept his eyes on hers. Hei slowly leaned towards her, longing to kiss Misaki, but hesitated centimeters away unsure of her emotions. As if she sensed his uncertainty, Misaki enclosed the gap between them and pressed her lips against his.

They tasted of wild cheery, paralyzing and drowning him in the luscious savor. Their kiss intensified, Misaki and Hei parting only for air, as she entwined her arms around his neck while he wrapped his behind her back and drew her to him.

Nothing existed for Hei except Misaki, and he wanted it to be this way, but reality hit him and pushed her away.

"Go," he whispered.

"No," cried Misaki, as a tear ran down her cheek.

"Please."

Misaki shook her head.

"Son of a…" muttered Yamato, rolling his eyes. "Let's go!"

He grabbed Misaki's arm and dragged her up the catwalk and out of the room with her screaming. Seconds later the machine whined in protest of the extinguishing power, which caused the room to be engulfed in white. Hei believed he had just died, but the bright light diminished to show he was still alive. He looked down at his foot to see it was no longer bound to the black hole.

He then noticed the machine looked to be old and destroyed with cobwebs all over it. The ground was centimeters thick with dust, and only emergency lights were working. Hei ascended the creaky staircase and walked along the rusty catwalk. He wondered if the machine had done something to the metal, but what would have grown the cobwebs and dust within seconds?

He walked through the door, and as he headed down a diminished hallway that was infested with rats, he hoped Misaki had gotten out of the laboratory. He entered the garage to see it looked to have been abandoned for years.

Hei headed up into a rugged down lobby where thick metal plates were placed on the sliding doors. He walked up to it, cursing the thing for not opening, and called on his power to send twelve volts into the line and open the doors. A darkened sky lay behind it.

He stepped onto the circular brick driveway that was cracked with weeds growing from them, and vines lining the archway. Hei walked out to the streets, marveling at vehicles that looked to be futuristic driving by. He began to wonder what had happened a few minutes ago. Had he died and was living in an afterlife version of the world? No, he hadn't died. If he were dead he would be talking with Mao, Huang, Amber, and his sister. What had happened to make everything around him different?

Suddenly, a blue modern-style Porsche screeched sideways to a stop, blinding Hei from the lights. He tried to see through the window, but it was too dark.

After a few minutes passed by, someone exited the car's left side, showing he or she was average height for a Japanese person, and pointed his or her gun at him.

"Don't move!" ordered a feminine voice. Hei thought she sounded like Misaki, but she had a higher pitch. "BK201." She said with discuss. "To think you've been alive all this time when you should be dead."

"Nani?" questioned Hei. "Me, dead?"

"Don't play dumb, BK201. How'd you do it?"

"I—I don't know what you're talking about?"

"LIAR!"

The figured woman slowly approached him, stepping into the light to show she had long black hair tide back, and she wore blue jeans with a tight t-shirt. A badge was clipped to her pants, but what caught his attention the most were her brown eyes. He had stared into them only moments ago.

"Did you even bother to think of how my mother had felt?"

"What did you say?"

A/N: I am sorry for the big cliffhanger, but I found that this was the only way I could end this chapter and set up for the next one. I am wondering what you all think, so please let me know. Thanks.


	11. Chapter 11

Darker than Black

Chapter Eleven: Kirihara Riku

Hei stared at the woman flabbergasted, wondering how it was possible that she was the daughter of Kirihara Misaki? It had only been a few minutes since he had seen Misaki from the incident in the Embassy's laboratory, or had it?

"What year is it?" he asked confusingly.

"Stop playing games, BK201," the young woman replied. "I know you know it has been twenty six years since you faked your death. Because of it, my mother continued your work to pursue the Syndicate and got herself killed!"

"De—dead? Misaki?" questioned Hei.

"Don't you dare say her name in front of me again!" Misaki's daughter demanded. "Lucky for me my stomach growled for the McDoness nearby, and lucky me for turning down the wrong street to come across you, as your star flooded over the stars and moon."

Hei's eyes twitch at her last comment.

"The stars and moon?" he asked. "They returned?"

"Did you hit your head and lose your memory?" she asked irritated. "Pandora was able to rid all Contractors of their powers five years ago!"

"Nani?"

Misaki's daughter ignored Hei's surprised expression, as she pulled out a small device from her pocket that looked like an iphone, and hit a button to cause a hologram to appear before her.

"_Nina desu,"_ replied a woman from the screen. "_Riku? Hey, did you see the sky?"_

"Hai, and I have the star's owner before me," replied Misaki's daughter.

"_Really, who?_"

"B… K… 2… 0… 1… Send a squadron with rubber gear to arrest him in front of New Sano."

"_All right, Riku."_

The hologram disappeared in which Riku returned her phone to her pocket while keeping her burning and hatred brown eyes on Hei. It hurt Hei to stare at them, seeing how Misaki had used to glare at him before she knew who he was. It also killed him to hear that Misaki had moved on after she believed he had died at New Sano, and had a daughter.

Hei wasn't surprised at Misaki's daughter's composure, reminding him of her, and was pleased to see she was a strong woman. Unfortunately, he couldn't let her take him in since he needed to find a way back to his time, if he indeed had traveled to the future.

"Sorry," spoke up Hei.

"For what?" she barked.

"This."

Hei quickly threw his wire at Riku to twist it around her wrist, causing her to shoot at his sudden movement, ricocheting the bullet off his sleeve, and then he sent enough voltage through the cable to knock her out. Riku's eyes rolled up as she fell forward in which Hei grabbed her to lay her down softly. Hei apologized to Misaki for doing such a cruel thing.

He whipped out his cable to an electrical pole across the street, and swung onto the roof. He stared in amazement at the sight of buildings rising higher in the sky, and glittered brighter in the night off Hell's Gate completed wall. Below vehicles ran through traffic in a rhythm, like an invisible conductor orchestrated them. The people walking along the streets wore clothes fashioned of his time, but they seemed to have a glossy look to them.

Hei gathered his poise and swung a few blocks away to drop down into a murky alley that had two brown rubber bins mirroring each other. One set had 'papers only' writing on it, and the other set were for bottles, plastic, and cans. He walked out of the alley calmly and saw a woman across the street.

He approached her to see she had long straight silver hair that fell down to her waist. She wore black seamless knee length skirt, black cotton and polyester long sleeve vest, and neckline glossy looking purple shirt. She had on purple nylons and black polished high heels. Her eyes looked like crystals, but they seemed full of life from the last time he had seen it only a half an hour ago. Tears began to pour from them, as she ran towards him to hug him.

"It's been forever, Hei!" she cried.

"Yin?" questioned Hei.

xxx

Riku was being smacked in the face lightly, which woke her as she sat up straight. She remembered being shocked by BK201, and then noticed police cars, ambulances, and her co-workers around her.

"Where is he?" she said through clenched teeth.

"Who?" someone asked.

Riku looked at the person to see it was her partner, Rito Miko. He had somewhat long messy hair parted upwards to the right with retro glasses and wore leather coat over a claret shirt made out of thin synthetic leather. Tensora was written sideways. His somber pants were snug from his waist to his knees, and fell baggy down to his ankles. There were pockets in the front and back along the waistline, and a set on the side at the knees. His rust-colored boot heels were thick, which made him tower over Riku.

"BK201!" shouted Riku.

"BK201 isn't here, Riku."

She cursed while standing, feeling a little dizzy-headed from it, and ordered, "Have patrols search in a two hundred meter diameter!"

"Riku, don't you think you're going over board? I know a star has appeared over us again, but how can you be so sure it's him?"

"Because I saw him eye-to-eye! The creep even shocked me with his ability!"

"All right."

xxx

Hei and Yin sat on the Namboku Line, heading northwards towards Yotsuya. His trench coat lay next to him folded neatly, and he had loosened his bow tie to hang around his neck with his three top buttons and cufflinks unbuttoned. Hologram ads played below the ceiling and above the windows. One was of a woman kissing to promote a lipstick, and another flashed back and forth from orange to red to indicate an anime's airdate and time. An ad above Hei and Yin gave information of the latest music coming out to download.

The train itself had not changed over the years, except for refurbished seats that felt more comfortable, and grab handles.

A woman standing while reading a Manga wore a snug and long sleeve gray shirt made out of cotton. A shadow-figured samurai patch was stitched above her left breast, and the collar was cut v-shaped diagonally to the left. Her khaki pants hung loose off her waist, and hovered centimeters off the ground to hide her shoes. The woman had short and dark straight hair with bangs that seemed to glimmer from the train's light.

Another woman wore plaid-less jacket made of leather over a dawn-tinted and taut silk shirt, along with slightly baggy and synthetic leather skirt that came down to the knees. Her high-heel boots made her head almost touch the overhead poles. She was gossiping with a friend on her hologram phone.

A man dressed in a business suit stared at nothing. A teenage boy, who bopped his head back and forth to a beat, was wearing black clothing with white outlining. He had a wireless earpiece in his ear, and had a small circular object, with an Apple logo, clipped to his belt that was playing a hologram of a rock video.

Hei listened to Yin mournfully tell what had happened the past twenty-six years. He had been surprised to hear that Misaki had paid to have chips embedded in her retinas so she could see.

"Pandora had found the meteor that had struck Tokyo so many years ago," she began with. "They did some test and determined Contractors and Dolls were getting their powers from it. Pandora ran some more tests, creating newer Contractors from it, and decided to destroy it. Contractors had gotten word, making EPR resurface with a stronger number, and tried to stop them, but they were too late."

Hei stared blankly while he listened to Yin's story, not surprised to find out where his power resided.

"Did all the Contractors die?" Hei asked.

"No, they and Dolls just lost their powers." Yin answered while closing her eyes, as if recalling a terrifying memory. "The ones who opposed Pandora were executed immediately."

Hei pondered on the story he had been told, and then something surfaced from his brain. If all Contractors and Dolls had lost their powers from the meteor being destroyed, how come he still had his? Was it radiating from the past, or was it something else?

"Yin, what happened when my star reappeared?" asked Hei.

Yin opened her eyes and smiled while looking into Hei's eyes. Since she was no longer a Doll and her eyes glittered with life, it made him feel like he was talking to a complete stranger.

"From what I _heard_, an orange light shot upwards from South America where Heaven's Gate had been, along with Hell's Gate," she replied.

"How?"

"I don't know." Yin said, as she shook her head.

They sat in the car not speaking to each other.

After a minute had passed, Hei asked, "How'd Misaki die?"

Yin's smile faded as she glanced over at Hei to stare at him for a few seconds, and then averted her eyes to say, "She was kicked off the Foreign Affairs after Yamato had found out about you and Misaki-san. She started her own detective business to hunt down the Syndicate.

"Ten years ago, she had been getting close to bringing them down. Misaki-san had gotten a call from Saitou-san about where the Syndicate was, and she went to check it out. It was an ambush planted by them and Misaki-san lost her life.

"Saitou-san blamed himself for her death, and he and Kanami-san decided to raise Riku-chan and give me a place to stay. Kiko would come over to hang out with me, or I would help her with cases, and we got Riku into anime stuff. The Slayers series is her favorite." Yin smiled from her last comment.

"So, what happened to Riku's father?"

Yin didn't respond to Hei's answer.

"He died," she finally replied after ten seconds of silence, not looking at Hei. "She never knew him."

Hei looked down at the floor and felt a bitter emptiness towards Misaki's daughter for becoming an orphan. He and his sister had faced the same fate when he was ten. It had been a horrible thing to experience, and he wondered if Riku had gotten over it?

The train pulled into Nagatacho.

"Sorry, Hei, but I must be getting home before Riku gets off her shift," said Yin, as she stood. She bent over and hugged him vigorously. "It was good to see your face again. Sayonara, Hei."

She pushed away from him and turned to exit the train, but Hei stood and said, "Will I see you again?"

Yin looked over her shoulder smiling and replied with, "Hai!" She stepped from the train and began walking towards the stairs. The car doors closed and the train pulled out of the station.

xxx

Riku sat in the conference room the next day, rapping her right hand's fingers on the oval table while sitting sideways with her lips pursed. She was dressed in a white blouse, the top two buttons loosened, with a navy blue coat draped over it that hid her holster and gun. Her shirt was slightly tucked out of her dark blue jeans, and the top portion of her black lace shoes were blanketed from the pant legs.

Her colleagues were also gathered around the table waiting for their boss to speak. Rito Miko sat to her left while Tsuya Nina waited patiently to her right. Nina's long hair had been dyed blond, making her small figure look more elegant than it seemed. She also wore blue contact lenses, which drawled in men like they were bewitched.

Riku was irritated that BK201 had not only somehow resurrected from the dead, but he had slipped through her grasp. Her mother had mentioned he was quick, but she didn't expect him to be that quick.

"Can I have your attention," said her boss, Kawakawa Okina. He had a sharp face with slick black hair and calm dark eyes behind circular glasses. "I received word this morning that Heaven's Gate had reappeared in South America."

Muttering started flooding around the table, which Riku ignored as she waited for her boss to mention about BK201.

"A team from Pandora has been dispatched to check it out," continued Okina, pushing up his glasses with his index finger. "What I am concerned here in Tokyo is a city wide panic that citizens will think that Contractors will be heading for Hell's Gate to regain their powers. I am asking Pandora to tighten their security just incase former Contractors do try and break in, but I don't…"

The conference room's door suddenly opened. A man in his sixties with gray long hair and a pressed suit entered with a few other people and sat down around the table. Riku recognized the gray-haired man as Hayatsu Yamato, and another as Kakuri Misuyu who had taken over her mother's spot when she was fired. Kakuri had a sharp face and graying hair dressed in a spiffy suit and tie.

"Hayatsu Yamato-san, what are you doing here?" asked Okina.

"I'm taking over this department and putting my old team on BK201's case," replied Yamato.

"But, sir, I thought you had retired?"

"I reinstated myself. Now, what's the deal with BK201?"

"Well, Detective Kirihara had encountered him at New Sano and called it in, but before back-up could arrive, BK201 had knocked out Detective Kirihara and left."

"Detective Kirihara had come across BK201?" questioned Yamato, as he looked at her with his left eyelid slanting up. "How come I have this itchy feeling of déjà vu, _Detective_ Kirihara?"

"What are you stating, sir?" asked Riku displeased.

"How come every time a _Kirihara _comes across BK201, he ends up escaping?"

"Are you implying I let the bastard go?" Riku shouted, as she stood to look Yamato in the eyes.

"I'm implying I don't trust a Kirihara. Everyone here knows your mother had a relationship with him. My concern is, are you able to put that past behind and worry about the present?"

"I am! I want him brought to justice like everyone else here!"

Yamato and Riku stared at each other. After a half minute of silence, she looked away from him and returned to her seat.

"All right, here's the thing," spoke up Yamato. "Everyone here will be taken part in seeking out BK201, code name, Hei, aka, Li or Xing, and bring him to justice: understood!"

"Hai," replied everyone except Riku who instead frowned.

Yamato began to blabber about the proper procedures of how to capture BK201 in which Riku decided to ignore and thought of what she would do when she had him in her sights. She imagined putting a bullet between his eyes, or maybe in his cold heart. She even thought about torturing that deceitful simpleton.

She began to ponder of where BK201 would hide. He could have gone back to his old apartment, but that would have been too obvious. There were a dozen abandon buildings in Tokyo that he might be hiding at, like he was probably doing at the New Sano building, but where?

"All right, now get to work," ordered Yamato, which snapped Riku out of her daze.

They stood and started filing out of the conference room.

"Detective Kirihara, a word alone," said Yamato.

Riku stopped as Miko closed the door behind him. She turned towards Yamato while glancing at the ceiling to avoid his stare with her lips pursed. He probably noticed her staring off into her own thoughts and was going to lecture her about it. Riku gathered her composure and looked down into his eyes.

"What is it, sir?" she asked.

"I'm putting you on temporary leave with pay while this department does its search for BK201," Yamato bluntly said.

"Nani? You can't do that!"

"I can, and I have your grandfather's approval."

"Ojiisan? He's retired, so why would his word mean anything?"

"He's been reinstated too."

"NANI! Do you people want to give him a heart attack?"

"Your grandfather is healthy enough to handle his job. Now gather your things and I will call you when the situation is dealt with."

"This isn't fair! I have dealt with so much crap because of BK201! I have the right to be apart of this case! But because of you and those stupid Syndicate A-holes always having to put your guy's foot where it doesn't belong, I get screwed!"

"That was way out of line, Detective!" shouted Yamato while standing and slamming his palms on the table. "You best leave this office and building now before I end your carrier like I did with your mother!"

Riku's face burned with fury, as her jaw line tightened, causing her to turn on her heels and exit the conference room while slamming the door behind her. The department's occupants looked towards her, as she stormed off and entered the elevator to go home.

**Darker than Black**

Hei awed at how much the world had changed in twenty-five years. Everything seemed the same, but the roads had been redone so that heat strips could be implanted in the concrete in order to prevent snow from developing on the ground. Traffic signals were refurbished, and the buildings were cleaned to where they seemed to glow. Holograms littered on top of the buildings, broadcasting previews of movies that were coming out, and the latest clothing fashion to buy.

The vehicles traveling through the city were more aerodynamic. They didn't fly above the city, or hover a meter off the ground. They still required tires, and they seemed to handle on the roads smoother than the vehicles of his time. The cars were also automated to drive on their own and didn't require fossil fuel. Gas stations had removed a majority of their pumps to replace them with battery chargers. Gas that was available cost three hundred yen per liter.

Noon had fallen on the day and Hei's stomach was growling devilishly, scaring stray cats and making neighborhood dogs bark. He didn't know where he was and could care less. He thought of entering a ramen store, but he wondered if his currency would work in this time, remembering Yin had to pay for his train ticket using a clear plastic card with a bar code on it.

Hei took his chances, removing his coat and weapons and hiding them to look less conspicuous, and entered a ramen store. A girl about the age of ten, presented in a blue apron that draped over a bulky shirt and loose pants, approached him smiling. She had long black hair that was tied back into two ponytails using two pink bows, and wore white tennis shoes.

"Welcome to Home Run House," she said. "My name is Rina. How many in your party?"

Hei jumped from her words and glanced around to see he was in the old restaurant by his old apartment. It had changed over the years. The place bore new circular oak tables littering the floor, refurbished benches, and newly colored red paint on the walls. Four different games were being broadcasted in hologram image around the restaurant.

He then looked at the back to see a woman in her thirties with long black hair hard at work cooking ramen. Hei recognized her as an older Rika.

"Eh, sir?" asked the girl named Rina.

"Oh, sorry. Only myself," said Hei.

Rina bowed and guided him over to a far end table. He sat down with his back to the door, as Rina set a menu before him to look at.

"Eh, do you accept currency here?" Hei asked, and showed her a two thousand yen bill. "I don't have my card on me."

Rina took it in her hands and glared at it, as if it were something she had never seen before. She then looked back at Rika and said, "Mama, do we take these paper things?"

Rika looked up from her work and stared at the currency. Her eyes turned into stars, as she dropped her spatula and clapped her hands together.

"HAI!" she shouted with glee. Rika rounded the counter, stormed over to the table, and snatched the yen out of Rina's hand. "This is worth twenty times its value since they discontinued currency ten years ago." Her joyful mood diminished, as she thought of something. "Demo, I'd feel bad for taking it and not able to pay you."

"How about an all you can eat buffet?" asked Hei.

Rika looked at him surprised, and then narrowed her eyes as she took in his feature.

"Oro? Are you related to someone by the name of Li Shengshun?" she asked.

"No, I don't know anyone by that name," Hei lied, as he cursed in his head for Rika remembering how he looked.

"Really? I figured you might be his son or something because you look like him."

"Really?" Hei laughed, but frowned as his stomach growled loudly, causing everyone to look at him flabbergasted.

Nobody said anything for a minute until Hei laughed it off again. Rika stared at him curiously.

"Could I have five bowls of ramen to start off with?" Hei asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Heh?" Rika asked startled, as her daughter's jaw dropped open like a ton of bricks. "Five bowls to start off with? Are you sure you're not related to Li Shengshun?"

Hei smiled and nodded his head. Rika shook her head, and gestured for Rina to get to work. After waiting a few minutes, Rina carefully walked over to his table with five bowls balanced on a carrying tray, and served his meals. He dug in to devour his food, making Rina stare at him baffled.

"Piggy!" she said.

"Rina! Be nice to our customer," demanded Rika.

Hei smiled at the commotion, and continued eating his meal. He was glad that Rika had inherited her father's touch at cooking.

Ten minutes into his meal the door opened, causing Hei to look over his shoulder to see a woman dressed in a black t-shirt, long blue skirt, a pare of pink-rounded glasses, pink plaid shoes over pink and white striped knee-high socks, and dark hair with pink high-lites. She took a seat a few tables down from him.

"Hey, Rina-chan!" she cheerfully waved.

"Eh, Kiko-san!" replied Rina while waving too.

Hei's eyes widened as he recognized an older Kiko who worked for Gai, and quickly looked away hoping she wouldn't notice him. Then he realized the bowls he had finished stacked next to him, which might give him away, and prayed she was over the whole stalking.

"Mama, Kiko-san is here!"

"Hey, Kiko. The usual?" asked Rika.

"Of course," replied Kiko.

Rika brought out a bowl of ramen that must have been made for Hei, and served it to her friend instead. Rina served Hei another three bowls and took the empty ones, as she pouted under her breath about washing extra piles of dishes.

"Mama needs to buy a dish washer!" she muttered, as she served the other customers. "Mister is a piggy like mama's friend!"

"Hey, Kiko, I know someone who you could stalk in place of Li-san," Hei heard Rika whisper to Kiko. "He's two tables over."

"Oh, very funny. You know I gave up on that years ago," said Kiko.

"I know. How is the Private Eye business going?"

"Fine. Gai's mad at me for taking all his cases, and he's still working at McDoness as a Manager to pay his bills."

The two friends chuckled. Rika returned to her work, as her friend started eating her meal. Hei cautiously ate his food, pleased that he didn't feel Kiko's eyes on him.

Moments later the door opened again in which he ignored so not to look back towards his former stalker.

"Riku-san, Yin-san!" shouted Rina, causing Hei to choke on his food and slam on his chest to swallow.

"Eh? What are you two doing here?" asked Kiko.

"I was put on leave thanks to BK201," replied Riku, as he heard her and Yin sit at Kiko's table.

"Li-san's star appeared over the sky? Is he really back?"

"Hai."

"Oh, what I wouldn't give to see him again," said Kiko.

"So you can stalk him again?" asked Yin teasingly.

"Of course not!"

"You best not, or I'll arrest you, along with BK201!" stated Riku.

"Can't you get over the past and call him…?" began Yin.

"No I can't, Yin, and I will never. I was hoping he was rotting in hell. Unfortunately he's alive!"

Rika gestured for her daughter to continue serving their customers, and walked over to Kiko, Riku, and Yin. Rina walked over to Hei's table to gather his bowls, and walked towards the back as she babbled, "I'm going to have a long day washing dishes! Mama really needs to get a dishwasher!"

"Hey, Riku. I think you should hear this," Hei heard Rika whisper. "There's a guy over there that looks like he could be Li-san's son, and he eats like him too."

Hei tensed as he waited for Misaki's daughter to whip out her gun and point it at him. Seconds past without anything happening, making him wonder what she was waiting for.

"BK201 hadn't been with anybody in his last few months except for my mom, Rika" muttered Riku.

"That you know of," stated Rika.

Hei felt her eyes on him in which he readied himself to run. Seconds passed slower than a slug moving along a tree branch, as Hei's heart pounded heavily against his chest.

"Just let it be, Rika. He's not the son of BK201," replied Riku.

He felt her eyes move away from him, making Hei think she didn't recognize him without his coat, and relaxed a little to continue eating his meal.

"What will it be?" asked Rika.

"The usual," replied Riku.

"Three bowls again? Riku, aren't you concerned of gaining that weight in your hips later in your life?"

"I exercise, so no."

"Unbelievable!"

Riku, Kiko, and Yin began talking amongst each other. A few minutes later, Rina placed two more bowls on Hei's table, and shook her head in frustration, as she served four more bowls to her mom's friends.

Hei decided to wait for Riku and Yin to leave first before he did, so that Riku wouldn't be able to see his face and put him in a bind. Occasionally, he could feel her looking over at him, making him tense up, but settled down when she looked away.

After a half an hour of Hei eating thirty bowls, putting Rina in tears, and listening to the women gossiping about their favorite anime—like the Naruto T.V. series—they paid for their meal and left.

Hei let out a sigh of relief, stood from his table, and waved goodbye to Rika and Rina while exiting the restaurant. As the door closed he heard Rina mutter, "Piggies!"

He picked up his coat and weapons, and started walking down the streets, wondering how he was going to return to his time?

A click sounded behind him two meters away from the back of his head.

"Did you really think I didn't recognize you because you were wearing that hideous tuxedo?" asked Riku.

"I was hoping you wouldn't," replied Hei. "You are just like your mother, Riku."

"I heard about that story of her spotting you in a woman's store, BK201."

"I'm guessing you didn't attack me in the restaurant so not to make a commotion?"

"Hai."

"And you waited for me to exit so you could sneak up behind me to where I couldn't dodge a bullet, and to make sure I was out of your reach to hit or electrocute you."

"You should have been a detective. You should also know I already called the police and they are sending back-up right at this moment."

Hei knew she wasn't lying since he could hear sirens growing louder in the distance. He thought hard on how to get out of the bind he was in, knowing he had faced far worse than this, but most of his opponents ended up dead afterwards.

"Hey, Riku, I almost forgot!" shouted Kiko, as she rounded the corner. "I… EEHHH?"

Hei felt Riku's guard drop, as she turned to face her friend shocked, allowing him to flip-kick backwards, knocking the gun out of her hand and arch over his head. He then flung his wire upward, hooking onto a telephone pole, and flew up onto the roof.

He hesitated and looked down at Riku to see her run over to pick up her gun and point it up at him. She glared devilishly, her finger twitching on the trigger to pull it, but something was preventing her, as if her own mother was holding her back.

Hei turned away and ran off to swing across the buildings. Seconds later he heard her scream out his messier code while shooting into the air.

Riku stared at where BK201 had been as she grinded her teeth together. She had had him at point-blank range and he had escaped because of her idiotic friend interrupting her. Riku had let Kiko run off so she wouldn't interfere, but that did no good.

"That was Li-san!" shouted Kiko, infuriating Riku from hearing that name. "He hasn't even aged! Oh, Riku, do you think he'll be here later, or maybe return tomorrow at noon?"

Riku turned to stare furiously at Kiko and growled, "Oh, I hope so! But I don't think he will!"

"Why not?"

"Because one: he doesn't want to be stalked! And two: I'M TRYING TO ARREST HIM!"

"Oro? Oh, yeah, I forgot."

"Forgot? How can you forget something like that, obasan?"

"O—obasan? I'll have you know forty is the new twenty!"

"My mom was in her twenties and you had called her that!"

"Oh, don't bring her into this! She stalked Li-san and stole him from me!"

Riku snorted as a vermilion half egg-shaped car pulled up with a swirling red police light on top of it. A meter of its front and back was straightened to a perfect ninety degree angle, and the bottom was raised a meter high off the ground. The tires looked spiffy, and the rims gleamed in the sun. The windows were tinted to where you couldn't see inside, and the engine running on battery power hummed quietly like a vacuum cleaner.

Riku's partners, Rito Miko and Tsuya Nina, exited the vehicle and walked up to Riku while looking around the scene to see where BK201 was. Squadron cars began to screech to a halt, making Riku feel like she was an atom bomb about to explode since the whole squadron was present to hear her failure.

"Where's BK201, Riku?" asked Miko.

"Escaped!" she shouted.

"Escaped? How?" Nina asked.

"Eh, that would be my fault," replied Kiko, holding up her arms as her charm bracelets slipped down her forearm.

"You? What did you do? Stalk him again?"

Kiko lowered her arm and looked down at the ground blushing, as she twiddled her left foot on the ground.

"Riku, Commander Yamato isn't going to be happy about this," said Miko. "He was already mad when he heard it was you calling for backup. We thought he was going to have a heart-attack."

Riku wanted to say, 'I wish he would of,' but she instead frowned and rolled her eyes.

Riku had to wait the rest of the afternoon for Yamato to arrive back from a meeting he had to attend. When he had finally arrived around seven in the evening, his blood vein was bulging out of his forehead, and his face was crimson red. He slammed his door shut, almost shattering the glass, and glared angrily at Riku.

"YOU HAD HIM!" shouted Yamato. "YOU HAD HIM AND YOU LET HIM GO! THIS IS WHY I DON'T WANT YOU WORKING WITH MY TEAM!"

"I got distracted, sir," replied Riku calmly.

"I DON'T CARE IF TOKOGAWA HIMSELF WAS WALKING DOWN THE STREET! YOU HAD HIM POINT-BLANK RANGE!"

"I KNOW! YOU DON"T HAVE TO SHOUT!"

Yamato's face burned even redder and grinded his teeth together, as he growled, "Get out of here!"

Riku snorted and stormed out of the office. She entered the elevator with Yin following, descended into the lobby, and bolted out of the building.

They entered her mother's old car with Riku sitting behind the wheel. She started it up and peeled off madly as she furiously drove through town. Yin was sitting tensely in the passenger seat while Riku screeched around a semi recklessly.

"Ri—Riku, please slow down," begged Yin.

Riku ignored her plea and continued to work her way through traffic unprofessionally.

Ten minutes into the drive, she pulled up to a batting cage that was empty, swiped her card through the scanner, and began taking swings at fastballs to lighten her frustrations. Yin sat in the cage to her left frowning at her.

Riku was so lost in anger she didn't know how many times she had swung at balls, how many she had missed and hit, or how many times she kept paying to play.

After what seemed like a decade for her, Riku swung at a ball so hard, she missed it, spun on her heels twice, and fell on her bottom.

Laughter came from her left and looked to see Kanami in tears with joy, and Saitou smiling in the same batting cage with Yin. Riku blushed from the embarrassment.

"Are you all right, Riku?" giggled Kanami.

"Ha—hai," replied Riku. "Wha—what are you and Saitou-san doing here, Kanami-san?"

"Eh, well, we heard about your run in with Li," spoke up Saitou, "and then Yamato scolding you, so we figured you were here. We wanted to see if you were all right."

Riku looked up at them lost for words. Her mother had left in her will that Riku and Yin were to live with Kanami. Kanami and Saitou had decided to marry months later, never having kids of their own. When Contractors no longer existed, Kanami was let go and had a difficult time finding work because of her occupation she had done for years. She ended up working at a part-time job.

Riku smiled at their concern and stood to exit the batting cage. They ended up sitting on a spot her mother had mentioned she spent the night with BK201, and stared up at the only star in the sky.

"Tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of Misaki's death," stated Kanami.

"Ah, I can't believe how fast time flies by," replied Saitou.

"It's kind of nostalgic," said Yin.

Riku said nothing as she continued staring up at BK201's star. For years she had come here with her mother, staring up at the fake stars with BK201's missing, but now it lay before her. How it seemed so easy to reach up and squish it between her fingers.

"It irritates me," spoke up Riku, causing Saitou, Kanami, and Yin to look at her curiously. "The torment I took, and the years of service I gave to the police department, but yet they treat me like I'm untrustworthy. Ojiusan lost half of his money I was supposed to inherit to his ex-wife.

"And now I have to deal with… with… BK… 20… 1." Riku said through clenched teeth.

"That's life," sighed Kanami, while pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "They won't let me back in the lab because of my connections with Misaki."

"Kanami-san, when did you start smoking again?" asked Riku surprised.

"Just now from everything happening," replied Kanami while placing a cigarette in her mouth and lit it. "You want one?"

"No, I made a promise to my mother after she died I would never light up or put another cigarette in my mouth again."

"Ah, I forgot about that."

"How can you when I made it to redeem myself for the hard times I gave her?"

"Riku, don't beat yourself," said Saitou. "I feel more to blame since I was the one who sent her there."

"I know, but the things I had said that day. It still haunts me." Riku jumped down and looked back at Saitou and Kanami smiling, as Yin hopped down. "I'll see you two later."

They returned it. Riku turned around and walked off to her car with Yin following.

xxx

Riku woke up early on her mother's anniversary, put on the Yukata her mom had bought with Kanami years ago, and exited her apartment with Yin who wore a black and purple dress.

They entered the Porsche and drove off. Neither of them spoke without any sound embedding from the speakers, making it feel like time had stopped.

Riku pulled up to the graveyard where her mother's ashes lay, exited the car, and entered the place to walk along the graves quietly with incense in their hands. A figure kneeling in front of her mother's grave caught her attention, and halted Yin.

"BK201," she whispered. "Yin, stay here."

Riku wanted to know how he found her mother's grave, but she put that to the back of her brain. She swiftly moved around a dozen graves, pulled out her gun, and placed her back against the grave behind BK201. Tension built up inside her, as her heart raced. She quickly spun around and pointed her gun at him, but he was missing.

Suddenly, a wire lassoed around her, and tightened its grip, causing Riku to drop her gun. The end was wrapped around the gravestone she had popped out from behind, preventing her from moving.

BK201 stepped out from behind another grave, making Riku grind her teeth in anger.

"Why you! Let me go!" she shouted.

"Sorry," replied BK201. "Yin, can you let her go when I'm gone?"

"Hai," replied Yin, as she walked up to him and took his split double-sided knife.

"Yin, how can you side with him?" barked Riku.

"Sorry, Riku, but I have my reasons. Please don't take it personally."

Anger built in her from the betrayal she felt, not just from Yin, but also from the world. BK201 began to walk off, making her stare at his back with disgust.

"Why, why did you leave okasan?" demanded Riku.

BK201 stopped and turned to face her and replied, "I didn't."

"LIAR!" cried Riku. "YOU LIE! Mom had said she held you while you died!" BK201 looked at her confused. "She told you about being pregnant with me. But…." Her head fell forward as tears formed in her eyes. "You… you left… you left her anyways."

Silence filled the air while Riku's heart ached with pain and her tears watered the ground by her feet. She couldn't hold back the years of torment that had been bottled up inside. It had finally shattered into pieces to make Riku look up at him again, scattering her tears from her eyes, as hatred incinerated her soul.

"Why," she shouted at him. "Why did you leave her? Why, OTOSAN!"

Japanese words

Okasan: Mother

Otosan: Father

Obasan: Old lady

Ojiisan: Grandfather


	12. Chapter 12

Darker than Black

Chapter twelve: Future's Past

Riku glared at her father while in tears, waiting for him to answer her question, as he looked at her confused.

"Me… your… father?" he stuttered. "I… how… but your mom and I… we never… I was sent to the future due to the New Sano situation before I had intimacy with her. I… I can't be your father!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Riku. "You told my mom nothing happened with that machine! You and mom hooked up after that, and then you were shot in the back by Mito who killed my mom!"

BK201 looked lost for words and then glanced over at Yin to say, "Is what she had said true?"

"Hai, Hei," she replied while nodding.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Eh, well, you asked me not to," Yin muttered as she averted her eyes.

"I…I asked you not to? Why would I do such a thing, Yin?"

"I don't know." She shook her head.

"I had enough of your games and lies, BK201, Hei, Li, or whatever your false names are!" shouted Riku. "I hate you and the pain you had put me through because of your reputation! To this day I am treated like I will become like you and kill at will!"

Riku's father looked at her baffled for a few seconds, as if he were trying to think of something to say.

"Sorry, Riku-chan," was the only thing he could think of, infuriating her even more.

"You son of a… How dare you try to apologize to me!" she said through clenched teeth. "I don't want it! I don't want you calling me chan! All I want from you is for you to sit behind bars for the rest of your life!"

He somberly looked down at the ground, his expression suggesting he was thinking, and then he stared into her waterlogged eyes.

"I am truly sorry, Detective Kirihara," BK201 reworded his apologies. "Sayonara."

He turned his back to her and ran out of the graveyard. Yin walked over to Riku and cut the strings that bound her. Riku glared at Yin angrily, making Yin cringe from it, and then she grabbed her gun as she ran after BK201. Unfortunately, he was gone, making Riku regret she had thanked him for the ability to lose people at will.

Sixteen years after Hell's Gate

Kirihara Riku sat slumped in a chair with her mother standing before the Vice-Principle in his office. Her mother was presented in her usual business suit. At her age men still found her features attractive since motherhood had been kind to her. Her hair had lightened over the years, but it still had its long luscious look according to Saitou. Kanami had tried to talk her into contact lenses, but she still wore her oval-shaped glasses.

Riku was wearing the school's dress code, but her appearance was inappropriate. She had black eyeliner, her black hair came down to her shoulders—a few strands dyed purple that hung in front of her right eye like a lighting bolt—and she had blood red lipstick on her lips. Riku's face was powdered in white, which made her have a ghostly look to her.

The office was cramped, and it had a chilly feeling lingering in the air. The Vice-Principle's desk was rectangle, and made out of oak, which draped down the front to hide the occupant's legs. It was littered with paperwork, a half empty cup of tea, and pictures of the Vice-Principle and his family.

The Vice-Principle had a bald spot down the middle of his head, wore big-square glasses he had to push up every five minutes with his index finger, and a brown suit.

"Kirihara Misaki-san," started the Vice-Principle, "your daughter has been suspended four times in the past three months since school had started. The school board is tired of her reckless behavior, disobeying our dress code, beating up on other students, and destroying school property. We are ready to expel her, but with yours and your father's history, we are only going to suspend her for a week."

"You and the school board are much too kind," bowed Riku's mom, making Riku frown.

"Don't thank us yet, Kirihara Misaki-san. We are only doing this so that hopefully you can straighten your daughter out before she returns next week. Because if she doesn't, the school board and I will kick her out of this school."

"All right, Mayamoto." Riku's mom looked in her direction and motioned with her head to follow.

Riku rolled her eyes, as she grabbed her purse, and sluggishly stood from the chair to trail behind her mother. They walked down the hall with their shoes clanking off the floor. Riku looked over at the lockers so not to take in her mother's sight while her arms were crossed, and lips pursed from knowing she would be getting a mouth lashing soon.

The Kirihara's exited the school, entered the well-kept blue Porsche, and drove into traffic. They said nothing to each other, as Riku sat with her arms still crossed, as she looked out the passenger's window.

"Are you ever going to shape up, Riku?" asked her mom. Riku didn't respond. "So why did you punch your Senpai?"

"Why do you think I knocked his teeth out?" Riku rounded on her mother. "He called me chibi Kuro no Shinigami. I hate being called little Black Reaper! In no way am I like BK201!"

"Riku, don't refer to your father like that again!" scolded her mother.

"Then what name should I use?" she asked while glaring at her mother. "Hei, Xing, or how about the name that you like to use, Li-kun, which sounds so much like my name, Riku?"

Her mother looked at her shocked for a second, and then said, "You figured that out?"

"I'm not stupid like you think I am, Mom." Riku looked away from her.

"I never thought that, sweetheart."

"You could have fooled me."

Riku's mother whipped the car to the side of the road, pulled up the emergency brake, and then turned to face Riku with a displeased and hurtful expression.

"I have tried so hard to raise you as a single mother, it hasn't been easy, and you're making it worse," pointed out her mother.

"No you haven't!" yelled Riku. "You've been sticking your nose into those files late at night that Saitou has been giving you instead of reading me bedtime stories when I was five! All your life you have been giving the Syndicate your full attention and me none!"

"That's not true. I have done so much with you."

"On your days off that's on every blue moon, and there hasn't been a moon in ages."

"Kirihara Riku, I don't know what I have done to deserve this kind of treatment?"

Riku glared at her mother saying, "You don't get it, do you, Mom? All you care about is chasing after some old fart you have no clue where he is, instead of paying attention to me until I'm in trouble at school, or with the law."

"No, I don't! I care about you more than anything else."

"Whatever!" Riku muttered while fishing through her purse to pull out a cigarette and lighter, and placed the cigarette to her mouth. Her mother snatched it before she could light it. "Hey, that's my last one!"

"So you have been smoking behind my back! You lied to me about your clothes smelling of smoke and saying it was from your friends!"

"You use to be a detective, you should have seen right through my lie!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, Riku, I knew you were."

"So why didn't you confront me about it then? I'll tell you why! Your stupid work that wouldn't help pay for your bills if it weren't for ojiisan's money! Unfortunately, we might lose that because of ojiisan's whore!"

"That's enough, Riku! I don't want to hear anymore of it, and I don't want you smoking this stuff!" Her mother stuck her hand out of the window and threw the cigarette at the ground. "People who smoke are…"

"Immature brats who want to seem grown up!" interrupted Riku. "Or a weak-willed person who needs to lay on a crutch all day. I've heard it a thousands times, mom, and I'm sick of it! Besides, some times you need to grow up, and it doesn't hurt to lean on something once in a while!"

Suddenly, Riku's mother's iPhone began to ring in her purse.

"If you care about me you won't answer that," said Riku, as she looked at her mother's purse.

Her mom thought of ignoring her phone for a second, but she instead pulled it out to see who was calling.

"It's Saitou, I have to take this," she informed.

"You can go to hell!" Riku replied through clenched teeth, as she opened the passenger's door and exited the car while slamming it shut.

She began walking down the crowded streets, as her mom stepped from the car and shouted, "Riku!"

Riku turned to face her and screamed back, "I HATE YOU!"

She ran off, knowing her mother would follow, which made Riku try to lose her as she bolted down an alleyway, and then enter a side door quickly closing it. She stormed through the back of a clothing store; causing the employees to yell at her that she didn't belong there. Riku ignored them while entering the front of the store; knocking customers out of her way, and exited the front door to mix in with the crowd.

For some reason Riku was good at losing someone if she wanted to, believing she had picked it up from her father from the stories her mother had told her, and thanked him only for that one thing. Everything else of him being a Contractor, his convenient names, and his reputation as the Black Reaper she loathed.

Riku entered the Hibiya subway line, got on the train to Ebisu, where she hopped on the JR Yamanote line, and stepped off it at Harajuku. She walked the streets feeling apart of a normal life, shopping for the latest fashion, as she emptied her mother's account. She knew all too well she would hear about it later, along with running off.

Riku didn't care about the trouble she was in and snorted at the thought. She checked her watch to see school had let out, pulled out her phone, and texted Nina and Miko to meet her at the McDoness in Shibuya. Riku got an, "o.k." reply from them.

They met a half an hour later, her friends still in their school uniforms, and started eating tons of greasy food courtesy of Riku's mom's account. Riku spent most of the time informing them of what had happened with her mom. After they had eaten half of what was on the menu, they left the restaurant and stopped at a vending machine so Riku could purchase a new pack of smokes. She lit a cigarette and puffed out her frustrations her mother had given her.

Suddenly, she began getting text messages from Saitou, Kanami, and Ootsuka, wondering where she was, and asked her to come home using 119. She ignored them and put her phone back in her purse.

"You're not going to answer that?" Nina asked.

"No," replied Riku after taking another puff of her cigarette. "My sorry excuse of a mom is probably using them to get me to come home. Unfortunately, I'm too smart to fall for something like that."

"But it could be important, Ri-kun," said Miko.

Riku frowned at him and put out her cigarette on his right arm, causing him to scream out in pain. She hated being called Ri-kun, and she had warned him not to say it again.

"You know how much that name sounds like BK201's convenient name," said Riku through clenched teeth. "Say that name again, and I'll knock your teeth out like I did to our Sempai."

"All right!" cried Miko.

After hours of buying half of the things she probably wouldn't wear, and getting a five-finger discount on a few Visual Kei rock albums, Riku and her friends decided to call it a day. Riku waved later to Nina and Miko, and headed to the home she called a prison. She pulled out another cigarette to light, and cringed at the thought of being chewed out.

Twenty minutes later she entered her complex and extinguished her cigarette on the bottom of her right shoe. Riku walked up to the apartment and entered it to see Saitou, Kouno, Kunio, Ootsuka, and Kanami waiting in tears next to Yin. Riku dropped her bags and glared at her mother's friends.

"Did my mother send you all to give me a scolding about what I had said to her?" she figured. "Cause if she did, she's wasting her time."

"Riku, it's… it's…" Kanami tried to say, but she broke down in tears.

Riku looked at them puzzled, wondering why Kanami was crying.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's about your mother, Riku," spoke up Saitou. "She, ah, she, ah, well." He got to his knees and bowed to the floor, surprising Riku. "It's my fault. If I hadn't called her… she'd… she'd…"

"What? What has happened to my mother? Is she hurt?"

"Riku," Kouno mutterd. "Your mom, she was ambushed, and well, she… she was shot three times. One to the stomach, another punctured her right lung, and the last struck her heart."

Riku took in Kouno's words, and then said, "She… she's going to be all right, right?"

Kouno looked down at the floor and shook his head saying, "Sorry, Riku, but she had died at the scene."

Tears began to swell in her eyes while she found it hard to breathe, as if chains had wrapped around her chest and tightened, and someone had stabbed a burning knife through her heart.

"No, liar," muttered Riku. "You lie. My mom wouldn't leave me!"

"Riku," Kouno tried to comfort her.

"NOOO!"

Riku knocked Kouno's hand away, as she fell on her knees and hands crying, her tears dampening the tatami. A part of Riku had felt like it was ripped out of her skin, making her want to die from the pain that was coursing through her veins.

"O—oka—okasan," she cried.

Yin walked up to kneel beside Riku who looked up at her. Yin wrapped her arms around Riku and held her close so she could cry the pain onto her shoulders.

Twenty-six years after Hell's Gate

Riku drove through town with Yin in the passenger seat, cursing for losing BK201 for a third time. She also began thinking of what he had said, believing that her father had traveled through time and wondered why he wouldn't tell her mother. Suddenly, a thought came to Riku. She figured that BK201 had kept it quiet so that the American's would think they had failed at their attempts at copying Contractors' powers.

Another thought crossed her mind and guessed maybe BK201 would try to find out where the Embassy was at, sneak into it, and make someone send him back in time.

Riku pulled out her iPhone and dialed Miko's number. Moments later his face appeared in the hologram.

"Miko, send a squad to the American Embassy," she said.

"_What for?" _he asked.

She told him her theory.

xxx

Hei found out where the new American Embassy was and prayed they were building a device that could send him back to his time. He had to have gone back to his time since Riku had said she was his daughter.

He leaped over the concrete wall to stare up at a twenty-story building with guards patrolling the area and standing in front of the entrance. Hei whipped out his cable to hook it to the roof, and rode it up. Chatter was echoing from a guard's walky-talky, as he walked around the roof holding his slick and futuristic-style rifle at the ready. Hei quickly crept up from behind, grabbed the man in a chokehold, and placed his knife on the guard's neck.

"Are the Americans working on a device to send people to and from the future and past?" asked Hei.

"Sorry, don't speak Japanese, dude," said the guard in English.

Hei asked the same question again in English.

"Basement," the guard replied.

"Arigatou," thanked Hei, and electrocuted the guard to knock him out.

He walked over to the roof's door, entered the building, located the power supply, and cut the power out with his ability. Everything went black for a few seconds before the generators kicked in.

Another guard was walking nearby in which Hei followed. He swiftly walked up to him and knocked the guard out.

He walked over to the elevator, opened the door using his power, hooked his cable to an I-beam overhead, and descended down to the basement. Once there, he pried open the door with his knife and was met by a nine-millimeter pointed at his head, as assault rifles were armed.

Hei looked baffled over the gun held by Riku.

"Hello, otosan," she smiled.

**Darker than black**

Riku stood in Yamato's office staring at him sitting behind his desk. BK201 had been brought to their department bound by rubber cuffs, escorted by men dressed in rubber suits, and he was placed in a cell with no electrical devices around.

"Well done, Detective Kirihara," congratulated Yamato. "I had underestimated you. As of now I am reinstating you. You are to take the rest of the day off and return to work tomorrow."

"Thank you, sir," said Riku. "If I may, I would like to return to my duties and interrogate BK201."

"Permission denied, Detective."

"But why? BK201 is in custody thanks to me! I have proven I am capable of handling myself around him even though he's my father!"

"Maybe so, but I'm playing it safe."

Riku clenched her teeth in frustration, making her want to knock the lights out of Yamato, but she reframed from doing a childish thing.

"So who's doing the interrogation?" she tried to ask calmly. "Miko, Nina?"

"Neither," replied Yamato. "He's being sent to Hell's Gate so they can determine how he is still alive and what Heaven's Gate has to do with this. And then he is to be executed once they are done."

"What? They just can't kill him!"

"He is a Contractor, a monster, an abnormal being, and a threat to society!"

"He is NOT abnormal! He is a living being, and that makes him as much human as you and me!"

Yamato leaned forward to place his elbows on his desk while lacing his fingers together, and then laid his chin on them to stare at Riku.

"It seems I was right about you," he replied, causing Riku to flinch at his words. "You are your mother, Riku. She had said the same thing a couple of days after the New Sano crises. Her affections for your father show in you."

"No way!" shouted Riku. "I do not care about BK201 at all! If I did, would I have arrested him?"

Yamato stared at her for a moment before leaning back in his chair to say, "That I have not figured out yet."

Riku cursed and stormed out of the office and rode the elevator to the lobby. Once there she saw Pandora escorting her father out of the building in his rubber cuffs. Her heart began to ache, reminding her of the pain she had felt when her mother had die, but it was the portion that had been untouched.

She cursed at it and walked up to them shouting, "Wait a minute!"

The guards turned to look at her. Their Captain walked up to Riku and placed his right hand before her.

"Sorry, miss, but no one goes near BK201," he said.

"Just a few words, that's all I ask."

The Captain thought on her words, and then nodded to her plea, allowing Riku to walk up to him and stop three meters away.

"Did you love my mother, or was she just a fling?" she asked.

"Eh?" asked BK201.

"Contractors are supposed to have emotions, but they don't act on it, so did you or did you not have feelings for her?"

BK201 looked at Riku lost for words, averting his eyes away from hers to say, "Hai, I do. But our situation had made us live different lives. Even if I had not died like you had said, your mother and I could never be together because of it."

Unable to control her anger, Riku walked up and slapped her father across the face, surprising him and everyone present. The Captain grabbed Riku by the waist and pulled her back.

"BAKA!" screamed Riku, letting her arrogant self take over while fighting off the Captain. "YOU LET A TRIVIAL THING KEEP YOU AND OKASAN AWAY FROM EACH OTHER! IF TWO PEOPLE LOVE EACH OTHER, THEY SHOULD FIGHT TO BE TOGETHER!"

"Ri—ku?" questioned her father, as he looked at her baffled. He then looked down at the ground, as a tear slipped from his eye. "Sorry."

She stopped fighting with the Captain to stare flabbergasted at her father crying. If Contractors weren't human, then how could he have shed a tear?

"Get her out of here!" the Captain ordered one of his men.

One did, seizing Riku's right arm, and pulled her towards the lobby door, as she began to fight with him.

"LET ME GO, NOW!" Riku shouted at the guard.

She was escorted out of the building and pushed down the stairs. Reporters came storming up to them to get the latest scope, pictures clicking off and video cameras rolling to get a shot of her father, as he exited the building.

"BK201, how is it you're still alive?" asked someone.

"BK201, why did you come back? Is it because you wanted to see your daughter, Riku? Or is it because it's Misaki's ten year anniversary?" asked another.

"BK201, what is your obeisance?" asked someone else.

Reporters that couldn't get close to him swarmed around Riku with flash bulbs blinding her and microphones shoved in her face.

"Detective Kirihara, how does it feel to accomplish what your mother could never do?" asked a female she couldn't see.

"No comment," replied Riku, pushing her way through.

"Detective Kirihara, doesn't it affect you that you had arrested your own father?" asked a man.

"No comment."

Riku shoved her way out of the crowd to see her father being placed in a mini van. She turned away from him, walked over to her mom's car with a flock of reporters trailing, and entered it. She turned on the car, placed the shifter in first, and slowly moved the vehicle as the reporters continued asking her questions. Riku pulled away from the crowd and headed home, cursing words that would have made her mom wash Riku's mouth out with soap.

Twenty minutes later she pulled up to her apartment complex, entered to ascend to her room, and stepped in it while taking off her shoes to see Yin crying, as she watched the news about her father's arrest.

"_And in other news," _said a female news reporter_. "Former Contractors have been shot due to his or her attempts at approaching Hell's Gate. Former Contractors have also been shot at Heaven's Gate. A few Contractors have regained his or her power and have started creating havoc in the country. American Forces have been sent in to deal with the problem, but a majority of them have been killed."_

Yin turned her head sideways to look at Riku to show her eyes were red from continuous crying.

"Are you sure you wanted to do that?" she whimpered.

Riku didn't have an answer for her. She would have easily had said yes, but after seeing him cry she wasn't so sure anymore. The side of Riku that had been torn apart from her mother's death had begun to ache again, making her feel guilty for her father's arrest, and believed in her heart she had done the wrong thing again.

The day at her mother's funeral, Riku had promised to her grave that she would do the right things from that point on. She had given up smoking, reframed from knocking her Senpai's teeth out, and started being respectful to the people her mother had held close to her heart. Unfortunately, she had broken the last promise.

"Sorry, Yin," was the only thing she could think of.

"Do you want them to kill him?" Yin asked, her own voice showing fear in it.

Riku thought hard on her words, which caused her to walk into her mother's room. She stepped before a closet, and slid open the door to roam around in it for a bit before pulling out a box. The name '_Li's_' was written on top.

Riku stared at it for a minute, and then opened the box to reveal a green coat next to a blue coat. She removed the coats, revealing a white mask with a purple lighting bolt across the right eye, and a black coat under it next to a few knives and a rectangle wire line. Riku reached into the box to pick up the mask, her hands trembling as she touched it, and raised it before her to stare at the haunting feeling she had first experienced at the age of six.

Yin stormed into the room and yelled, "Answer me, Riku!"

Riku was quiet for a few seconds, searching her thoughts for the right words, and said, "No, Yin, I don't want him to die," as she kept her eyes on her father's mask.

She peeled her eyes away from it, stood to walk into her bathroom, and opened a drawer to remove a pair of scissors. She looked into the mirror to stare at her reflection for a bit, and then started to cut her hair at shoulder length.

xxx

Hei was placed into a chair like the one he had sat in when the Syndicate demanded him to sneak into Hell's Gate. The chair had been made out of hard rubber with cufflinks to keep him from using his electrical powers to break out, or shock anyone.

The room was similar, but there bore no video screen. There were desks to Hei's right with a couple of men in white coats sitting in front of holograms while typing frantically. An elderly man who looked older than dust, and two other men—one of them a foreigner—walked over to Hei. They too were wearing white coats.

"It's been a while, BK201," he said. "It only seems like yesterday I put that bullet in your back. If only Akira was still alive to see this. We are running some test on your blood at this moment to see how you might have been resurrected. But why don't you tell us."

"No," replied Hei.

The elderly man looked back at the workers sitting in front of the holograms and nodded. One of them hit a key, sending a sharp pain into his back, as if he had been stabbed.

"Like that?" asked the foreigner. "We hacked into your brain and sent a signal into it that said you had been stabbed."

"To avoid the pain, just tell us what we want to know," stated the other man.

"I don't know," replied Hei.

Another pain went through his body, making him scream.

"Mito-sama," spoke up one of the workers. "I got a reading on his blood."

"All right!" he smiled, and walked over to check out the readings. "What do we…? Impossible? The reading must be wrong! It says he is a few months younger than when I had killed him twenty-six years ago!

"Wait a minute. Now I get it! The American's machine; it worked!"

"Nani?" asked the other man.

"Don't you understand, Ken? He was sent to the future the day the Americans decided to test their little experiment: this future!" He looked at Hei. "That's why you were trying to sneak into the American Embassy. You were trying to return to your time!"

Hei narrowed his eyes at Mito and began to fear the worse. If they were able to use the machine, they could go back in time and do who-knows-what to the past.

"Absurd!" shouted Ken. "The Americans had stated that the machine didn't work since it didn't have enough juice for the machine. They even tried to use it after their so-called party, and it still didn't work!"

"It's not absurd. BK201 gave it the juice it needed. Remember ML921 had said BK201 electrocuted him when he was up against the machine. That there would have given the machine enough electricity it needed."

"Sir, another star has appeared over the sky," shouted the other worker.

"Another one?" questioned the foreigner.

"Which one?" Mito asked.

"Dunno, sir."

"Keep us informed."

"What do we do with BK201 now that we got what we need?" the foreigner asked.

"I say kill him" said Ken.

"Ken, not so fast," said Mito. "We still don't know how BK201 can use his power, or why Heaven's Gate has appeared. He lives for now."

"Don't be so ignorant, Mito. If we keep him alive something might happen. Things never go right when he's around."

"He's right," said the foreigner. "I'm with Ken. BK201 must die now."

"Since when did you start agreeing with him, Brian?" asked Mito.

"When it comes to solving a problem easily."

Suddenly, emergency lights began to flash around them, causing Mito to walk over to a control desk and hit a switch.

"What's going on?" yelled Mito in the mike.

"It's… it's…" a man's voice tried to say, as gunfire erupted and screams shouted in the background.

"What, Private?"

"Ku...Kur... Kuro no Shi… Shine… Shinegami!"

Hei's eyes widened from surprise.

"NANI?" shouted Mito. "What the HELL are you blabbing about? We have the Black Reaper here!"

"No, you don't, sir. Oh, shoot!"

A gun shot at close range. Suddenly the Private's voice screamed out in pain.

"Get me footage of that area!" ordered Mito.

A hologram image of where the screen Hei had remembered appeared to show men lying on the ground knocked out. In the background stood a figure. He wore a black coat with a white mask; bearing a purple lightning bolt across the right eye, blanketed by short black hair.

"Son of a…" muttered Ken.

Hei shook in fright, never experiencing its haunting appearance after wearing the mask for so many years until now. Suddenly, the Black Reaper whipped out his right arm to throw his cable line, hooked onto something out of screen, and flew off.

"Im—IMPOSSIBLE?" shouted Mito. "How can there be two?"

"Maybe when BK201 traveled through time his atoms split," commented one of the workers.

"Or maybe it's his past self trying to save himself," stated Brian.

"If that's the case," Mito began to say, as he pulled out a revolver from his pocket, and pointed it at Hei. "We don't need him anymore."

Hei braced for the bullet to strike him. It had been Hei's choice whether to take a life, and now someone else was choosing to take his.

"Sir, we identified the other star, and you're not going to believe it!" shouted the worker.

Mito frowned while disarming the gun and walked over to the control board to stare at the screen. His eyes widened, as his mouth dropped open from shock.

"How can that be?" he yelled. "She's supposed to be dead!"

"Who?" Brian asked.

Mito didn't answer. He instead snorted and stepped in front of Hei to point the gun at his head. His finger tightened on the trigger, making Hei tense.

Suddenly, gunfire and screams filled the hallway outside. Within seconds someone was knocked through the door, causing Mito to point his gun towards the ruckus and fired. The Black Reaper moved out of the bullet's path, threw the wire at Mito to wrap it around the gun's barrel, and yanked it out of his hands.

"How?" Mito asked. "How is it possible that you are still alive and there are two of you?"

"That doesn't concern you," said the Black Reaper. "If you and your comrades want to live, give me the keys to his cuffs and leave."

Mito frowned while grinding his teeth. He then motioned to his colleagues, and to the employees who were about to wet themselves, to follow him out of the room. The Black Reaper approached Hei, making him look up at the mask and wonder if he was his other self. The Black Reaper kneeled beside him and unlocked the cuffs. Hei stood from the chair and stared at his savor.

He wanted to thank the person, but he instead said, "Who are you?"

The Black Reaper didn't respond at first, but then said after a few seconds of silence, "The daughter of the Black Reaper, otosan."

Hei flinched.

"Riku?"

She didn't respond to him, as she pulled off the coat to hand it, his cable line, and his knife to him. Riku grabbed his left arm and guided him down the halls. Guards stepped before them, shooting at will in which Hei blocked the shots with the coat. He threw out the line, grabbing the lead guard, and shocked him.

He then quickly ran at the guards while blocking the shots with his daughter following, and then started fighting hand-to-hand against the guards. With their backs together, Riku punched one guard across the face while Hei did the same to another. A guard swung his rifle at Riku's head in which she ducked under and uppercut him, as Hei sidestepped a punch, and then roundhouse kicked his opponent. Riku grabbed a guy's gun as he tried hitting her, knocked it under his jaw, and then threw the rifle at another guard to strike him in the head. Hei blocked a punch from someone else, allowing him to punch his opponent's stomach, and then kicked him across the face.

Having enough of the fight. Hei took a hold of Riku's arm, and they started to roundhouse kick the rest of their opponents in a circular pattern.

After the last guard was knocked out, father and daughter continued down the hall.

"The entrance isn't this way, Riku!" shouted Hei.

"We're not going out the front door!" said Riku. "We're going through the vents and down into the old subway!"

"Eh?"

"Trust me!"

Hei said nothing else and put his trust into her hands. He was pleased to see she didn't hate him anymore, but he wondered why she had a change of heart for him? Did he say something back at the police station to her, or was it something else? Hei made a mental note to ask her when they were kilometers away from Hell's Gate.

They turned around a corner to see an old man standing before them pointing a gun. He pulled the trigger, striking Riku's heart, and knocking her back into her father's arms.

"RIKU!" he shouted, as he kneeled to support her and threw her mask off.

She looked up at him smiling, and then coughed up blood.

"I—I can't… seem to… to do… the right things," she struggled to say.

"No, it's not true," assured Hei.

"U—uso, otosan."

"Riku?" questioned the old man, as he lowered his gun and stared at them shocked. "Wha—what are you… why?"

"Be… because… he's my… father… o—ojiisan…"

Riku closed her eyes and fell motionlessly.

"Riku," Hei shook her. "Riku, Riku?"

She didn't respond to him, causing Hei to embrace her, as tears formed in his eyes and ran down his cheeks. He didn't recall when the last time he had shed tears like this for anyone, remembering he had not for his sister, which felt like all the years had come out at once.

A click sounded before him, and he looked up through waterlogged eyes to see Misaki's father pointing his gun at him. Hei carefully laid his daughter's lifeless body on the floor, showing he was covered in her blood, and stood glaring at him devilishly.

"You, you took my daughter away from me, and now you took the only thing I had left: my granddaughter!" he shouted.

"You did that yourself," replied Hei through clenched teeth.

Anger built up in Naoyasu's aging eyes, causing him to pull the trigger.

Suddenly, time seemed to stop, as everything felt like it had gone blank, and then he found himself staring at a woman with green hair and orange eyes.

"A—Amber?" questioned a surprised Hei.

"It's been a while, Hei," she smiled, but then frowned while looking away. "Well, at least for you."

"Wha… but you died at Hell's Gate five months ago! How can you… why are you an adult when you had looked like a two year old the last time I had seen you?"

She looked back at him and said, "Twenty-six years ago, Hei. Time travel can be a weird thing, and I'm not the Amber you had last seen at Hell's Gate, but at Heaven's Gate."

"Eh?"

Amber drew close to Hei to wrap her arms around his neck. Their lips were centimeters apart. Hei could feel Amber's breath, which started tormenting his feelings towards her. She closed the gap between their lips and kissed him, as her body outlined in blue. Suddenly, Hei felt like time had been rewound, and he found himself running behind his daughter before she had been shot, shocking him. He even noticed his clothes weren't covered in her blood.

They turned that fatal corner to see Riku's grandfather pointing his gun at them in which Hei yanked Riku behind it, as the gun was fired.

"O—ojiisan?" questioned Riku.

"Riku?" questioned Naoyasu. "Wha—what are you doing here wearing that mask?"

"Correcting my mistakes!"

"Riku, I'll go lenient on you if you step away from him now!"

"I don't think we have to worry about that," replied Hei. "Right, Amber?"

"Amber?" questioned Naoyasu.

"Amber?" Riku repeated.

"Hai," said Amber, which came behind Naoyasu. A gunshot echoed, and then Naoyasu whined in pain. "It's clear, Hei!"

Hei and his daughter stepped from the corner to see Amber standing over a knocked out Naoyasu. She smiled at him, but he noticed there was tension behind it.

"How'd you know it was me, Hei?" asked Amber.

"Eh?" he surprisingly questioned. "You had sent me back in time to stop Naoyasu from killing Riku not too long ago. "

Riku pulled off the mask and glared up at her father shocked, as Amber stared at him baffled.

"I did?" she questioned.

"Don't you remember, especially when you kissed me?" replied Hei.

"Kissed?" questioned Riku. "Kissed?" She glared at Amber. "You… you two kissed?"

"My other self might have?" said Amber.

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means my other self sent your daddy back so he could save you, let me take him back to his time without my two selves crossing each other, and me not having to worry about losing a portion of my age."

"Eh?" questioned Riku.

"Time travel can be a weird thing," Amber said to Riku.

"Amber, how is it possible you and me are able to use our powers, but no one else can since Hell's Gate's meteor was destroyed?"

"I can use my power with this," replied Amber, showing a meteor piece to him. It looked like the one Amber had used on him at Hell's Gate. "As for you, Bai's power resides in South America."

"South America? What does that have to do with anything?"

"South America's meteor is still active, Hei. When Pandora activated their little experiment and Bai tried to stop it, she wasn't completely successful at stopping it. The Contractors that had their powers at Heaven's Gate had lost it due to Dr. Schrader's little experiment, like Havoc. They had to fight their way over to Hell's Gate to try and reclaim their powers since Heaven's Gate went missing. The only person's power that remains is yours thanks to Bai."

"Xing?"

"Since the Syndicate erupted Hell's Gate's power, the Contractors across the world were stripped of their ability, becoming Regressors. Now that Heaven's Gate has reappeared, if any Contractors were to go near Heaven's Gate, they…"

"They would regain their power."

"Hai. Hei, it's time to return you to your time."

"All right."

Amber walked up to place her hand on him.

"Wait, please!" Riku spoke up. "Can… can I have a few minutes with my father?"

Amber and Hei looked at her baffled. Moments later Amber smiled and stepped away from him.

"O—otosan, sorry," Riku said. "I'm… I'm sorry for… for what I did, and for hating you for so long. I kept on telling myself that I wasn't like you, but I was wrong. Now… now that I look back at my time with mom, I had acted like you as Hei… as the Black Reaper… and Li. S—sorry." She averted her eyes from his.

"Riku, you have nothing to apologize about. It's me who should be apologizing for not putting my problems aside and being with your mom to see you grow up."

She looked back at him with tears in her eyes. Suddenly, he embraced Riku, surprising her for a second, but she then cried on his chest while he placed his chin on top of her head.

"Do… do you think mom knows I… I love her… and… and miss her?" she asked.

Hei could tell Riku had wanted to ask that question to somebody after her mother's death, but she must have been afraid of the answer.

"Hai," he assured her, causing her to laugh as more tears ran down her cheeks. "Sorry, Riku, but I have to go. I promise you, I will do what it takes to live and see you grow up."

"Promise?"

"Hai."

Hei pushed her back softly, pulled off his coat and cable, and handed them to her.

"O—otosan?" she asked puzzled.

"If I fail, keep these in remembrance of me, Riku," replied Hei.

She looked up at him lost for words, but then nodded. Hei stepped over to Amber who placed her hand on his shoulder, and he looked at his daughter one last time before he was swept back to his time.


	13. Chapter 13

Darker than Black

Chapter thirteen: Contractor's Forbidden Sentiment

Two days after the New Sano party:

Kirihara Misaki stood in a brightly lit conference room at the end of a wooden rectangle table with her partners to her right. Her commander and father were to her left with a couple of higher ups, and a bald elderly man named Bakumasufu Akira.

He was a few years older than her father, with combed gray hair and ice blue eyes that could freeze someone quicker than November Eleven. He had on a well-pressed iron navy blue suit that didn't have a single strand of hair on it.

The air was stiff, making it seem hotter than it was, and harder to breathe. Beads of sweat trickled down the side of her face, as her palms became sweaty to where she kept wiping them on her pant legs. She was grateful she had remembered to put deodorant on this morning.

"Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs Section Four Kirihara Misaki," began Akira, his voice sounding neutral. "After reading Commander Hayatsu Yamato's report, it seems to us that your duty to capture Contractors is insignificant: especially when you didn't draw your weapon on BK201. How do you plead to the accusation?"

"Hai, I didn't draw my weapon because I had hesitated," replied Misaki.

"And why is that, Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs Section Four Kirihara Misaki?"

Misaki didn't speak at first to the question, as she thought of something while sweat dripped down the side of her face. The situation she was in made things uneasy to pull the truth due to her commander's presence.

"The truth is, sir, I didn't fire at BK201 because he had shown companionship to Commander Yamato and I," stated Misaki.

"He's a Contractor, an abnormal being, and a monster," pointed out Akira.

"No, he isn't abnormal, but a living being, which makes him as much human as you and me."

"Ludicrous! But even so, is that the real reason, Section-Chief Kirihara, or is it because you have feelings for him: especially since you called him Li?"

Misaki flinched as her partners looked at her shocked. It seemed like the walls started to close in with everyone staring at her. Saitou looked shocked the most, probably because he had worked along side with Li during Alice's party. Her father glared at her displeased for having feelings for a Contractor.

It wasn't his concern how she lived her life, even if it was with Li. She loved him dearly and she would live with him for the rest of her life if she could. Misaki would rather follow her heart than worry about what people thought.

"So what Commander Yamato had presented in his case against you was true," continued Akira. "He demands that I fire you from the police force indefinitely. Sorry to say, but I agree with Commander Yamato."

Misaki tensed as her companions awed at the statement.

"Sir, you can't!" shouted Saitou.

"What Misaki says is true," replied Ootsuka. "I too had been saved by BK201 more than once."

"Misaki's been leading us for the longest time," spoke up Kouno. "We would feel uncomfortable with someone else."

"You will deal with it or you can quit," stated Yamato, his eyes narrowed at them.

"Then I think we will," said Kunio.

"Everybody, stop!" pleaded Misaki, as she glanced at her companions. "It is my fault that I am in this mess, not you guys."

"But, Misaki!" whined Ootsuka. "We're a team."

"Not anymore after my performance. You four must continue working to protect this city. As for me," she looked at Akira, "I willingly step down. Will I be charged with anything?"

"It had been brought up, but no," said Akira.

"Arigatou."

"One other thing. Your car that had been impounded is having its siren removed and other objects that are police property. Expect to have your vehicle back in two to three weeks."

Misaki bowed, and then pulled out her gun and badge to place them on the table. Without another word Misaki left the conference room, descended into the lobby, and exited the department.

Moments later she stepped onto the crowded JR Yamamoto line, heading away from Harajuku, and sat on a vacant seat. Her mind swirled around the situation concerning New Sano, and she was grateful not to have seen any falling stars that night. She wondered what had happened since Kanami had told her the following day that Li's star had disappeared for a few seconds, but then it reappeared.

She had also stated that YB001's star had done the same thing dozens of times before it fell six months back. Misaki had asked what it had meant, but Kanami didn't have a reply. All she had said was that she was the first star, and that she could freeze time. Misaki had figured some how time had frozen for Li, which might have caused his star to disappear.

xxx

Hei and Yin sat on the somewhat crowded Oedo line that was heading towards Ochanomizu. Amber had sent him back to his time in Ikebukuro a few seconds after he had disappeared. A few moments later Yin's spectre had appeared nearby. He had told her to meet him back at their apartment.

Once they had reunited a half an hour later, Hei had told her about traveling to the future, meeting his daughter, and how he was going to die soon. She didn't want to believe what Hei had said, but she had promised not to say anything to anyone if it did come true.

They stepped off the train at Ochanomizu, ascended the stairs, as other commuters came marching down, and walked onto the streets. Fall had arrived, making the air cool to the naked skin, and forcing people to change to longer clothing and light jackets.

They reached an alleyway and headed down it. Hei and Yin came up to a rusty garage door with a doorbell nearby. Hei rang it.

"_Who there_?" asked someone in Japanese badly from a screechy speaker near by.

"It's me, Lou," replied Hei.

"_Who me_?"

"Hei, and I have Yin with me."

"_Oh, why you say so?"_

The garage door clanked open to allow Hei and Yin to step into a dusty confined building that was cluttered with junk stacked up the side of the four story room, and piled everywhere on the floor two stories high with enough space to walk around. Chinese music was playing in the background that was being drowned out by grinding noises. Hei guided Yin around the filth, praying the stuff wouldn't fall, and came up to a work area that was hidden from the mess.

A penguin looking man was grinding a piece of metal placed in a vice. He was wearing a welder's leather coat, torn up blue jeans covered in grease, scratched up safety glasses, and a depleted baseball hat that was flipped backwards.

He stopped grinding to put the grinder down, and pulled off his safety glasses to glare at Hei. His face was obscured with grime, except around where his glasses protected his eyes.

"Nihao," said Hei in Cantonese.

"What do you want, Hei?" asked Lou, also speaking in Cantonese.

"I came by to pick up those knives, masks, and coat I had asked you to make for me."

After Hei had run from the Syndicate, he needed to find someone who could make his stuff. He had found Lou, who also had worked for the Syndicate making equipment, but he had stolen some things from them, and had to run when a hit was put out on him. He was now making a living by building things for customers.

"Need anymore fake paperwork?" Lou asked.

"No," replied Hei.

"Do you have the money, cangbai?"

"Hai, I got the money. Here."

Hei pulled out a wad of money he had saved from the Syndicate, and handed it over to Lou. He snatched the money and flipped the cash under his index finger to make sure it was the right amount. After he was done he set the cash on his dusty and disorderly workbench.

"Okay!" smiled Lou, as he gave a thumbs up and winked at him. "It's all yours, cangbai!"

Hei gathered up his stuff, throwing on the coat, and exited the shop to walk down the streets. He kept his eyes open for police officers since he figured Misaki's commander would have put out an APB on his description. He also figured that Misaki had to have been fired from her spot as Section Chief of the Foreign Affairs by now.

His mind swirled around concerning the kiss he had with Misaki. It was the best moment of his life before his sister became apart of him. He had locked away his heart that day, but some how Misaki had found the key and unlocked it. The thought of her made his blood boil and send chills down his spine.

He wondered if she had thought about their kiss. Was his taste to her sweet, intoxicating, or not so pleasant? Did she think about the same things he was, or was she contemplating on other things: like if they had a future together?

Hei frowned at his last thought since he didn't have a future. In a few months he was going to be shot in the back by Mito.

Yin and he drew closer to the Oedo subway line when a woman that had red hair and emerald eyes came running out of it with two men chasing her. One of them was average height for a Japanese man, and the other was dark-skinned.

"Please, don't!" shouted the woman in English.

"You're coming with us, Popper!" shouted the Japanese man.

The woman ran by Hei and Yin. As the men approached them, Hei close lined the Japanese man. The dark-skinned man glared at Hei peculiarly, and then grinded his teeth together, as his body outlined in blue and his eyes turned red. He pointed his right index finger, which made Hei narrow his eyes and wonder what the Contractor was doing. He made an assumption while shielding his body, as a bullet was shot from the fingertip. It ricocheted off his coat, surprising the Contractor, and allowing Hei to quickly chop the back of his opponent's neck.

The woman stopped running and looked back at him flabbergasted.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, still speaking in English. "Oh, gomen, Do you speak English?" she asked in Japanese.

"Yes, a little," replied Hei in English.

"Good," she said in English. "You might want to stay out of my business."

"Why, what did you do?"

She frowned at him for a second, and then said, "I married a Contractor."

xxx

Mito and the other Syndicate members, except Akira, were gathered in the conference room. The atmosphere was heavy with disgust and hatred from hearing about Kirihara Misaki being fired a few hours ago. It felt like that if someone were to light a match the room would explode.

"How can they do this?" questioned Ken irritably. "How are we to find BK201 now?"

"Calm yourself, Ken," warned Brian. "This is no time to be throwing a temper tantrum."

"Don't tell me what to do! You're not my mother or father!"

"The way you act it seems like I am, and I should bend you over my knee and spank that bottom."

"Why you!" shouted Ken, as he stood from his seat.

"That's enough!" screamed Mito, causing Ken to look at him. "Sit down, Ken, or face the same fate as Hiro!" Ken snorted as he did what was demanded. "Now I know we lost a good lead to BK201, and I'm angry too that Akira went and kicked her off the force, but there is still a way of finding him."

"And there is," said Akira from the door.

Everyone in the conference room glanced over at him standing in the doorway. He closed the door, walked over to the front of the table to take a seat, and leaned back.

"How?" Ken asked.

Akira smiled at him.

"I am having a tracking device put underneath her car so we know where she is at all times. There will also be a team in a vacant room across from her apartment to watch her."

"Smart move, Akira, but why not keep her on the force?"

"You are so ignorant, Ken. The people of this city want someone trustworthy to run the Foreign Affairs. Since Kirihara Misaki has fallen in love with a Contractor, do you really believe the majority of the population would accept her? As long as you keep the weak and needy feeling safe, and make them believe what you are doing is right, you can do whatever you want."

The Syndicate members sat quietly after Akira's speech and let it linger in their brains.

"That's pathetic!" said Ken bluntly.

"Actually, it's the truth, Ken," said Mito. "A lot of people will believe what they are told from news reporters nowadays." He looked over at Akira. "You still believe she will lead us to BK201 after everyone found out about her feelings for a Contractor?"

"Hai," replied Akira.

xxx

The Japanese man achingly stood to his feet, hoping the Contractor had killed the moron who had close-lined him, but the Contractor lay sprawled on the ground face down. He walked over to him and kneeled to smack the Contractor awake. The Contractor's eyes cringed, and blinked open to look up at the Japanese man. He slowly rose to a kneeling position, and then stood. The Japanese man also got to his feet.

"What happened?" the Japanese man asked.

The Contractor's right lip drooped as he told the Japanese man the events that had happened. The Japanese man's eyes narrowed after hearing the bullet bouncing off the man's coat.

"BK201," he muttered.

The Japanese man reached into his jean pocket, and pulled out his cell phone to dial a number. He placed it to his right ear while it rang.

"_Mito desu,_" said Mito's voice through the phone.

"Sir, its Pokiyasu," said the Japanese man. "We lost the girl thanks to BK201."

"_BK201? How'd he find out about her?_"

"I think it was luck that they crossed paths. I don't think they got too far though."

"_Good. Find them and kill them."_

Pokiyasu hung up his phone and he sighed to himself since he knew the situation he was in wasn't good. He turned around to look at his partner to see he was centimeters from his face. Pokiyasu stared at him peculiarly, as his head jerked backwards and wondered why the Contractor was up in his face.

Unexpectedly, the Contractor started baby talking to him. His facial expression was motionless; making it look like a Zombie was trying to be cutesy. Pokiyasu clenched his teeth together while balling up his fist, and socked the Contractor across his face. The Contractor wobbled back a few steps and stared at Pokiyasu flabbergasted.

"Don't do that!" shouted Pokiyasu.

"What? I have to since it's my obeisance," stated the Contractor.

"Well then find a stray cat to do that with!"

**Darker than Black**

Misaki, wearing white shorts and a black t-shirt, exited her bathroom while drying her hair with a towel. She flopped onto her couch, grabbed the remote, and turned on the news to see she was the top story.

"_Kirihara Misaki was let go from the police department today," _said a young and beautiful newscaster. She had a square face, dressed in a tan suit, and had shoulder length hair with bangs._ "At the moment the Police Force is not stating why they had released her, but many speculate it had to do with recent events at the American Embassy."_

Misaki sighed at it and wondered what was in store for her future. Would she find a good job, or end up working as a Security Guard at a factory. She feared only a fast food restaurant would hire her.

She began to think what was in store for her and Li. Would they ever be able to live together, or would the Foreign Affairs continue their hunt for him? Misaki prayed that he wouldn't be taken into custody; because if he did, she was afraid Pandora would end his life.

Her heart ached at the thought.

After their kiss, Misaki couldn't stop thinking about Li. She wished he hadn't pushed her away before the bright light engulfed him. She imagined him holding her in his arms while kissing her after the incident, as she thought that maybe their emotions might have taken them farther.

Her cell phone rang, distracting her thoughts. She picked it up and flipped it open to see Kanami was calling.

"Hello," answered Misaki.

"_Whatever happened to you saying, Kirihara desu?" _Kanami asked.

"Eh? I—ah—I'm not sure?" Misaki lied. It was because her mind had been on other things, and she had been caught off guard from the phone call. "What is it?"

"_I heard you got canned. Sorry to hear it. At least they're not throwing the book at you though."_

"Did you hear the whole story, or just what they posted on the news?"

"_Saitou told me the whole story."_

"Ah." Misaki leaned her head back on the couch. "So do you think me getting involved with Li was the wrong choice?"

"_Why are you asking me that? You know my relationships with guys never lasted long. I don't think I'll ever get married at the rate I'm going."_

"Nor I," Misaki sighed.

"_Misaki, don't say that. Li is a great guy, except for him being a Contractor, and the Black Reaper, but he's a really cute Black Reaper. I thought you two looked cute dancing with each other."_

"Wait a minute, you saw that?"

"_Oh yes!" _teased Kanami

"Did anybody else see us?"

"_No, Misaki. I can tell you are worried about what people might think. I wouldn't worry about it. I mean, what could be worse? You two having a kid and he or she goes around wearing a white mask and black coat?" _Kanami laughed.

Misaki blushed at the thought of having a kid with Li, but then pondered if he or she would be born as a Contractor or not? Suddenly, she thought of the child's appearance, wondering if their kid would have hers or Li's eyes, the color of hair, and whom he or she would take after.

Another thought crossed her mind of what the child would be like after knowing his or her father was a Contractor? Would he or she think nothing of it, believing the situation was all right, or would he or she hate Li? The thought scared Misaki.

"_Misaki, are you still there?"_ Kanami asked.

"Eh, sorry, I got lost in thought," replied Misaki.

"_Phew, I thought we were having one of those American cell phone commercials there for a second. Wait a minute, what were you thinking about?"_

"Eh, nothing important." Misaki blushed.

"_Misaki, I know you're lying, I just wish I could see you blushing about thinking of having a kid with Li-kun."_

"Kanami!" barked Misaki, as her friend laughed in the phone.

xxx

Lily Popper sat across from Hei and Yin in a ramen store. Yin had finished her meal, as Hei was finishing his twentieth bowl. Lily, still on her first one, stared at him flabbergasted. He waved down their waitress and asked for another bowl, making the waitress cock her eyebrows, and causing Lily to shake her head in disgust. The waitress walked off cursing under her breath.

"You know, you're going to get fat when you turn thirty," said Lily.

Hei smiled at her, but then realized he wasn't going to hit that age. He pushed that thought to the back of his brain, and narrowed his eyes at Lily to ask, "So why'd you marry a Contractor?"

"Oh, you won't care about that."

"Please."

Hei wanted to know due to his feelings towards Misaki, and from knowing he was going to have a daughter he would probably never see grow up. She stared at him for a second, and rolled her eyes while throwing her hands up in defeat.

"I married him before I knew he use to be a Contractor," she caved in.

"Use to be?"

"He's what's known as a Regressor. A Contractor who loses his or her power in hopes of a normal life."

Hei winced, remembering Havoc had become one, and she had feared of regaining her powers in order to tell Hei what had happened at Heaven's Gate. To his luck Lily didn't notice his surprised expression since she was staring off into nothingness while embarking down memory lane.

"We met each other four years ago in England. As we dated I had asked if I could meet his parents since he had met mine, but he had told me he was an orphan. One year later we married.

"After it was said that Contractors existed, my husband finally told me the truth about him. I thought about leaving him for lying, but I loved him so much, and I knew he loved me, even though he was a Contractor, so I stayed.

"Just last week, these men came bursting into our home and brought my husband and me here. My husband was able to make a distraction so I could run."

"Do you know whom the people were who kidnapped you and your husband?" asked Hei.

"Yes, MI-6, the group my husband had used to work for. They planned on taking us to the Syndicate and have our memories wiped to keep our marriage a secret. They believed it would be a disaster if the world found out a Contractor could love.

"After that, they would take him to Hell's Gate so he could regain his power, which my husband doesn't want.

"Oh, gosh, why am I telling you this," questioned Lily to herself, as she rolled her eyes. "For all I know I'm endangering you. Waitress, can I have my bill!"

Their waitress walked over to them in which Lily paid her bill and ran out of the restaurant. Hei threw down thirty thousand yen, and ran after Lily with Yin trailing.

"Wait, I can help you!" called out Hei.

Lily laughed while she continued walking and asked, "How?"

"Well, you see, I'm a…"

Hei felt a nagging sense of danger, and jumped in front of Lily to shield her from a bullet. He looked to see where it had come from, and saw the same two guys from before. The Contractor shot at him again, which Hei easily blocked. He threw his cable to wrap it around the Contractor's neck and shocked him.

"What the?" Lily said behind him. "You're… you're…"

The Japanese man frowned while drawing his own gun and fired. Hei blocked it while releasing his wire to whip it around the Japanese man and shock him too. He recoiled his line and looked back at Lily.

"You're… a Contractor," she muttered.

"We have to go before the cops…" began Hei, but stopped as he noticed a car next to them highlighted in blue. "Watch out!"

Hei knocked Lily and Yin to the ground and shielded them from the car exploding. Shrapnel scattered throughout the streets and sidewalks, as a few pieces ricocheted off Hei's coat. As the stuff settled down, Hei looked to see if the coast was clear. Unfortunately, he was staring at a smiling dark and bulky skinned man. He had a shaved head with a scar running down across his right eye from his forehead to his cheek.

"Impressive, BK201," the man said in a low tone. "But dodge this!"

The lamppost next to him had glowed blue, forcing Hei to push Lily away, as the metal exploded. He shielded them again.

Hei threw his knife at the bulky man, but it was blown up immediately. A piece of the car lying by Hei's feet glowed blue, making him kick it at his opponent, but it had erupted before reaching its new target. Hei whipped out his line to wrap it around the bulky man's neck, but it shattered before he could send electricity through it.

Hei stumbled back and wondered why the bulky man wasn't trying to blow him or his target up instead of destroying objects. The answer hit him moments later and figured he could only destroy metallic things, which gave Hei an idea. He reached into his coat and threw one of his masks at the bulky man, who freaked out of what to do, which allowed it to strike and shatter on his head.

The man screamed out in pain while clamping his hands over his face to feel pieces of the mask embedded in his skull. He ripped out a few of the pieces, howling from excruciating agony, and then used his power to destroy another car to make his getaway. Hei watched him run off. Suddenly, he heard sirens in the distance, and ran over to check on Yin and Lily to find they were all right.

"We have to get out of here," he stated to them.

"Not with you!" shouted Lily. "You work for the Syndicate, don't you?"

"I use to."

"Use to? What's that suppose to mean?"

"I ran from them after they tried to kill me, and I found out about their plan on killing Contractors."

"I don't believe you. Contractors are known to lie. For all I know you could be setting me up. The whole thing with you and that other Contractor could have been planned by the Syndicate."

"If I was working for them, I would have knocked you out by now and given you over to them. Please, trust me. I'll help you get back your husband."

Lily stared at him for a second.

"Why would you want to help me?" she asked.

"Because I know how you and your husband feel. I too am in love with someone."

Lily's eyes widened in shock and said, "But you still have your power. How can you love?"

"Contractors have emotions, but they say they don't act on them. I am one who does."

Lily stared into his eyes, trying to spot a lie lingering around, but apparently she didn't since she nodded.

Japanese words:

Moshi: Hello

Chinese words:

Nihao: Hello

Cangbai: pale


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen: Hei's Nostalgic Redemption

The dark-skinned and bulky man boarded a subway that was heading towards the station near Tokyo Tower. He painfully removed pieces of the Black Reaper's mask from his face, cursing in the process while throwing them onto the floor of the train. Passengers looked at him in fright, and began moving into other cars. The bulky man glared at them angrily, wanting to blow them up, but reframed from doing it so he wouldn't be killed in the crash.

After removing the last piece he sat down and ripped his shirt's sleeve to wrap around most of his cuts on his forehead. Areas that weren't covered poured down his face, which caused him to wipe at it. A little boy standing next to his mom a few meters away stared at him dumbfounded, as the PSP he held continued playing. His mom hadn't noticed the blood yet since she was rambling with someone on her phone. The bulky man glared at the boy, his eyes turning red as his body outlined in blue, and blew a wire in the boy's PSP. The boy dropped it startled, as his mother screeched and grabbed her son's arm to guide him into the next train.

The bulky man snorted and leaned back in the chair. Humans were weak and pathetic. If he could he would blow up every single one of them so that his kind would rule the world. The image was satisfying to him. The people he would like to start killing were the annoying Foreign Affairs, and with Kirihara Misaki out of the picture, it would be easier.

The train pulled into the station near the rendezvous point. He exited the car, ascended the stairs and out onto the streets, and walked up a steep hill and down it to pass Tokyo Tower.

A few minutes later he entered a wooden area. The ground was slightly covered in dirt with grass growing in a few places, and some twigs were scattered around the park. A few people were either alone, with someone, or walking their dogs.

A man in a baseball cap was standing near a ravine. He didn't look at the bulky man, as he came up beside him.

"Did you guys find and take care of the girl and BK201?" asked the baseball cap man, trying to look inconspicuous.

"No, BK201 was too clever," said the bulky man. "The other two were knocked out, and they might be in the custody of the Foreign Affairs now."

"What? Are you pulling a fast one on me, JY407?"

"No, you can ask the Syndicate."

"Don't worry, I will. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to them and report your failure."

The baseball cap man walked off and disappeared in the forest. JY407 sighed while he picked up a twig, looked around to make sure no one was present, and dropped his pants as he readied himself for the pain that was about to come.

xxx

Saitou investigated the area where BK201, FD934 and JY407 had fought. The Fire Department was busy at work extinguishing flames fluttering inside destroyed vehicles, as Kouno talked with witnesses. Yamato stood nearby supervising their performance.

Yamato looked displeased that BK201 had not been present when they had arrived, which Kouno had almost mentioned the same thing had happened with Misaki, but Saitou had caught on in time and had stepped on his foot to keep his mouth shut.

A man was being detained, as he screamed about his car that had exploded, and what they were planning on doing about it.

"I'm sure your insurance will cover it," said the police officer.

"Nowhere in my insurance claim does it say it covers erupting cars!" he barked.

Kouno finished talking with a young lady and headed over to Saitou. Yamato walked over to hear the conversation.

"Got something?" asked Yamato.

"Hai," replied Kouno. "The lady had said there were three Contractors fighting. Two of them were after a man in a black coat."

"BK201?" questioned Yamato.

"The way she described him, yeah, it would seem. Also, she had said that there was another man with a gun. The man in black had deflected the bullets and knocked out the two men with his ability. After that is when the car beside the curb exploded where BK201 and two women were standing."

"Two women?" questioned Yamato. "Who are these women? Was one of them Misaki?"

"I don't think so, sir. All I got was that the women weren't Japanese. I asked if she could describe these women for us, and she agreed."

"Anything else?"

"Just that she had seen them coming out of that ramen store," Kouno replied while pointing down the street.

"All right. Get back to the department and fill out your report."

"Hai," replied Saitou and Kouno together.

xxx

Hei guided Yin and Lily through the sewer towards the Syndicate's building. He had Yin check and see if they were holding someone there, which she had said yes, and had stated that they were going to wipe his memory in the hour.

They came up to the manhole that led up to the garage.

Hei looked back and said, "You two stay here where it's safe. Yin, make sure you tell me where the guards are at and lead me to her husband." He informed while tapping his earpiece in his right ear.

"Hai," replied Yin, as she nodded.

"Wait one second!" shouted Lily in her native tongue, as she placed her hands on her hips. "I'm going with you!"

"No, it's too dangerous," replied Hei in English.

"I don't care! I already ran from two guys shooting at me. I want to go with you and help save my husband."

Hei said nothing for a minute, and then looked at Yin who shrugged to suggest it was his call.

"All right, but you have to do what I tell you," stated Hei.

"Fine by me, Chief," replied Lily.

"What floor are they holding him, Yin?" asked Hei in Japanese.

"Eighth floor," she said.

Hei removed the manhole, climbed out of it, and helped Lily up. They entered the emergency staircase, and cautiously ascended it to level eight. Once they arrived, Hei placed his back up against the wall and pushed Lily upon it as well.

"Yin, is the hallway clear?" whispered Hei.

"_No_," Yin's voice spoke into his ear. "_Two guards are doing a perimeter search, two guards are standing in front of the door where her husband is, and two guards are inside the room with him_."

"How far are the guards doing a perimeter search?"

"_They are approaching from the door's right side, and will be passing you in… three… two… one… they have their backs to you."_

Hei quietly moved through the door and swiftly knocked out the guards on the back of their necks. He then gestured for Lily to follow him down the corridor. They stopped at the corner while placing their backs on the right wall. Hei peeked around to see the two guards talking amongst themselves, and cursed since there wasn't a leisure path to render them unconscious without them drawing fire.

A thought came to him, and told Lily to stay and wait for him. He ran back to where he had knocked out the first two guards and dressed in one of their uniforms. When he returned to where Lily was, she ended up freaking out, and had almost run in front of the other guards if Hei hadn't grabbed her arm in time.

"It's me. Hei," he whispered.

"Hei?" she questioned. "What are you doing in… oh, I get it."

Hei smiled and turned around the corner. The guards standing in front of the door looked towards him while aiming their weapons, but lowered them and waved. Hei returned the gesture. The two guards continued their chat while Hei approached them.

"I heard Misaki was kicked off the force," said the guard to Hei's left.

"That's crap," replied the guard to the right. "They're just saying that to make the public happy. I bet they'll have her do some sort of undercover work for them, or try to have Misaki want to join us so she can spy on what we are doing."

"Baka! That will…" The guard to Hei's left pointed his weapon at Hei. "Hold it right there, soldier! I don't recognize you. Give me your name and rank."

"Hei, BK201," Hei replied.

"What?" shouted the two guards.

They aimed their weapons to fire, but Hei quickly knocked them out with the butt of his rifle.

"Yin," he whispered.

"_Only those two guards inside_," she replied.

"All right."

Hei moved the guards out of view, unclipped a key card, and swiped it through a mechanism to unlock the door. He stepped through it, as the guards pointed their rifles at him.

"You have no business being in here," said a guard in front of the prisoner.

"Turn around and close the door before we shoot you and then find out why you were being an idiot," stated the other guard behind the prisoner.

Hei nodded. He turned away from them, but he quickly pulled out two knives while spinning around, and threw them to pierce the guards' hands, making them drop their guns. Hei swiftly ran at the guards before they could recover and took them out.

"Bloody hell! What in God's name is going on?" Lily's husband asked in English.

"Kami has nothing to do with what I've done," replied Hei as he removed his helmet, and looked at the prisoner.

Hei flinched at the man, who was medium in height and skinny with black messy hair and brown eyes. The messy-haired man also jumped at the sight of his rescuer.

"Hei?" he questioned.

"James?" Hei muttered.

**Darker than Black**

"What the hell are you doing here, you git?" questioned James.

"Rescuing you, baka!" replied Hei, as he cut James free.

"Why would you who work for this organization want to save me?"

James stood after being released and rubbed his bruised wrists.

"Because I don't work for them anymore, and I want to see the Syndicate crumble after learning they planned on wiping out all Contractors," replied Hei. "Unfortunately, for them only Contractors that got their powers from Heaven's Gate lost it."

"How'd you know that?"

"Amber told me."

"Amber? She's still alive?"

"No. How'd you know? I figured you would have lost your memory too, due to being around Heaven's Gate when it went off."

"I wasn't. Neither was Havoc or Amber. Amber had gotten us out of there before Bai made the Jupiter System go boom. The Syndicate tracked down Havoc and me not long afterwards. They were going to wipe our memories, but I escaped before they could clean me dry."

"No wonder why she couldn't remember anything," replied Hei.

"You ran into her? Where is she?"

"Dead."

"Dead, how?"

"There's no time for that now, James. We need to get you out of here."

"Wait one minute. I know you didn't know it was I you were rescuing, so why come here to save me?"

"Your wife."

"Lily? Is she all right?"

"Hai, she's just outside."

James charged out of the room to see his wife, and ran over to embrace and kiss her. Hei glanced away from their reunion, and wished he was holding Misaki in his arms and kissing her lips. The question she had asked about if Contractors and humans could live together started to plague his mind.

James and Lily pulled away and looked into each other's eyes.

"You shouldn't have come, Lil," said James.

"I had to," replied Lily. "I love you so much."

James smiled at her. He then looked over at Hei to shout, "Oy, how about we get out of this ghastly place!"

"Hai, Yin!" spoke up Hei.

"_You're clear to the stairs, Hei_," informed Yin.

"All right."

Hei threw off his disguise, guided them towards the stairs, and descended them. Things were quiet until they reached level six.

"_Hei, someone's entered the stairwells at level two and is heading up your way!" _shouted Yin.

"Is it clear on the sixth level?" asked Hei.

"_No."_

Hei cursed under his breath.

"I'll take care of him, mate," spoke up James.

"No, I'll take care of him," stated Hei. "You protect your wife."

Hei leaped over the railing while clipping onto it, and swung down to level three. He locked his wire and kicked into a surprised guard, causing his gun to fire off a few rounds and impale the wall across from them.

Alarms started going off. James and Lily's feet could be heard echoing above as they ran down the stairs.

"_Guards are going to intercept them on four!" _shouted Yin.

Hei retracted his line, sending him upwards, and reached level four as guards busted through the door. They pointed their rifles at him and fired, which Hei blocked with his coat, ricocheting them back to impale the guards.

Lily and James arrived moments later.

"You all right, mate?" asked James.

"Hai," replied Hei.

"_Another guard is about to enter where you're at!" _screamed Yin.

Hei quickly grabbed the knob as the door began to open and shocked it, causing someone on the other side to howl in pain. James looked at him shocked.

"What the?" questioned James. "How…? But that was… Isn't that Bai's…? How did you…? Did you get it from her after her little stunt?"

"Hai," said Hei.

He guided Lily and James into the sewers to meet up with Yin. They traveled down the confined pipeline, and exited onto Kanpachi-dori in Ogikubo. Clouds began to develop as thunder could be heard in the distance.

"So where do we hide now, James?" asked Lily.

"Somewhere in Canada," he replied.

"There's also Russia."

"No, there is an organization who uses Contractors there," replied Hei. "Canada doesn't. You'd be best in the upper areas than around the border."

"As I was thinking, mate," said James. "What about you?"

"I won't leave Japan until the Syndicate is dealt with. And… there's someone here I can't leave behind… yet."

James looked at Hei peculiarly, but then smiled at him.

"That's the Hei I remembered," spoke up James.

Hei looked up at him shocked and wondered what he had meant by that? Was there an expression he gave that James recognized, or was it something else?

James walked up to place his right hand on Hei's shoulder, as he looked into his eyes.

"Always trust your feelings, mate," he said.

James patted Hei's shoulder and then turned to head over to his wife to depart. Yin walked over to Hei.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

"Hai," replied Hei. "Yin, will you be all right by yourself tonight?"

Yin didn't speak at first, but she nodded and said, "Hai."

xxx

Saitou and Kouno patrolled the streets of Nakano after getting a call that BK201 was active in the area. There had been no indication a fight had happened in the vicinity. The only thing they had noticed was a manhole that had been opened in which Saitou had almost drove into.

"Stupid utility workers!" barked Saitou. "Learn to cover the hole next time."

"You think we'll find BK201 here?" asked Kouno.

"I doubt it. He's never too easy to catch. I still can't get over the fact Li is BK201," sighed Saitou.

"Come on, now, was he really that nice? He had to be faking it since he's a Contractor."

"I'm not so sure about that, especially how his stomach always growled, and his hunger for food."

"Hunger for food?"

Saitou chuckled at the memory concerning Alice's party and told Kouno of Li's eating habit.

"Thirty bowls of ramen? The guy's going to get fat when he hits his thirties."

"That's what I had said to him," laughed Saitou.

"Maybe that's his obeisance? Although, you got to admit, he and Misaki do make a perfect couple concerning their desire for food." Saitou choked from Kouno's comment, and then frowned. "Ah sorry, Saitou."

"It's quite all right, Kouno. How about we get out of here and get something to eat."

"I'm game."

xxx

Rain started pouring down after Misaki had gotten off the JR Line. She ran for her apartment, as her clothes were being drenched, and wished to be in the comfort of her car. She entered the complex moments later, irritated that her clothes were soaked.

Misaki stepped in one of the elevators with a man in his thirties. He hit a floor button, as the doors closed, he glanced at Misaki, and then smiled gleefully at her. She frowned while giving him a dirty look, which made him glance away.

The elevator seemed to take forever to reach her floor. When it did, Misaki rushed out and felt the man's eyes on her until the door closed.

"Pervert!" she barked.

She reached her room, unlocked her door, and entered it. She removed her blue coat to hang it up, and walked into the bathroom to grab a towel to dry off.

Misaki reentered her living room to see her balcony door lay opened with heavy rain pouring in. Misaki ran over to close it, as she tried remembering if she had stepped onto the balcony this morning. She sighed away the thought and turned around.

Shock overwhelmed her, as Misaki stared back at the man she held close to her heart. He too was drench from the rain, his green coat looking darker than usual, as water dripped from the tip of his hair.

"L… L… Li… Li… k—kun?" Misaki stuttered, as if her heart was trying to speak for her. "Na… na…?"

"Sorry, Misaki," whispered Li, his eyes soberly looking at hers. "I… I have lied to where I have hurt you."

Misaki's heart had skipped a beat, as she shuttered from his words. She had been led on false pretences that he had any feelings for her, and he had come to admit it. The thought of Li saying it caused her eyes to water, making Misaki fight them back, and kept her composure before him. Unfortunately, she knew she would be on her knees soon.

"Sorry, but you were right," continued Li, baffling her for a second. "Kuro no Shinigami had died that day."

Tears poured from her eyes. She had been wrong. Li hadn't come to break her heart, but to try and mend it.

Li walked over to her, staring deeply into her eyes, and caressed her cheek. Misaki couldn't look away from him, noticing there was more life in his eyes than there had been since that special night six months ago.

"Whether if I have chosen the same path that humans and Contractors can live together… hai."

His words eased her heart and filled it with delight. The man who stood before her wasn't BK201, nor Li, but both.

"I love you, Misaki," he muttered before kissing her.

His lips tasted sweet to hers. Misaki clenched her eyes in order to prevent any more tears from running down her cheeks, but it did no good. Their kissing intensified. They pulled apart from each other's lips only for air, as Misaki threw off his coat and wrapped her arms around Hei's neck while he pulled her against his body.

The world around them no longer existed. The concerns about whether or not people could accept humans and Contractors living together had slipped from their minds.

Her desires for Li made her bite lightly on his lips in which he didn't fight, and returned the favor. She didn't know how long they stood in each other's arms, but Misaki couldn't care less.

Before she knew it Li had lifted her in his arms and carried her into her bedroom. He settled Misaki on her futon, removed his shirt, and kneeled between Misaki's legs. He ran his hands under her shirt, which she didn't resist, and let him remove her shirt to reveal her black shoulder lace bra.

Hei pressed his hands against the futon to support his weight over her so he could continue to kiss her. Misaki wrapped her arms around his back and pulled him down towards her. Her hormones grew wild from feeling his bare chest against hers.

She wondered if Li would be beside her in the morning, but she pushed that thought away and wallowed in the moment she longed to have with him.

"I love you, Li," she muttered, as they made love.


	15. Chapter 15

**Darker than Black**

A/N: Sorry it's been a bit, but I wanted to work on that DTB Christmas Carol, and I had other things that needed my attention. I also had to add some things into this chapter. I also wanted to thank everyone that has been finding time to read my fan-fiction, and to those who have been reviewing. Without you all for helpful support, I don't think I could have gone on posting. I thank you all, and I hope you enjoy the rest that are still to come.

**Chapter Fifteen: Second Date**

**Five years ago in South America:**

Hei ran through the rain forest, spattering mud around him, as he tried to escape a trap one of his partners had set up. He had asked his partner where his sister and Amber were, which he had said in this vicinity, but that had been a lie. Hei should have known since his comrade was a Contractor. He loathed them and felt like puking whenever he was around them.

A rifle fired and a bullet impaled the dirt by Hei's feet. He slid to a stop and pulled out one of his knives backhanded, as a few dozen men surrounded him. Hei cursed while cringing from the odds of escaping.

"Just die, Black Reaper," said one of the men. "With you out of the way, we can kill BK201 easily."

"What?" said Hei, as he grinded his teeth. "This was all a set up to get rid of me?"

"Hai. We bribed one of your men to get BK201 away from you, and then send you on a wild goose chase."

"Tsk, even if you kill me; don't think you can kill Bai with ease. So many have tried and failed."

"But if you weren't there to save her she could easily drown in water while fulfilling her obeisance."

Hei looked at him flabbergasted.

"Now you get it, Black Reaper."

Hei clenched his teeth in anger and shouted, "I won't let you hurt my sister!"

He threw a different knife with his left hand at the lead man, embedding it in his skull, and flung his other to kill someone else. Hei then whipped out his cable to wrap it around a tree branch and pulled him up on top of it, as gunfire ripped through where he had stood. Hei disconnected the line, whipped it around three enemy's necks, and strung them up, as he dropped down. He quickly ran at a few men to stab them in the heart and slice a few others' throats.

Hei grabbed one of the soldier's arms, shot his weapon to kill a couple other men, and then broke his neck. Only a half dozen lay waiting to die, but they were out of his reach.

"DIE!" they shouted.

Suddenly, the remaining men looked on in shock, as they wiggled like jelly, and then fell dead.

Hei looked around and saw his sister behind him kneeling next to Amber in the mud that stretched over to Hei's opponents.

"You all right, onisan?" she asked.

"Hai," replied Hei.

Bai smiled and then passed out. Hei ran over to pick her up, and then glared over at Amber displeased.

"Don't ever leave my sight again, Amber," demanded Hei.

"It's all right, Hei," smilied Amber. "Bai and I figured we were let on and ran back to camp. I caught Biggs trying to sneak out. I snatched him up by his neck before he could, and demanded to know where he sent you. After he spilled the beans we ran out here to help you." She put her back to him. "Come on. Everyone is waiting for you to return so we can decide what to do with Biggs."

Hei grabbed her right arm and turned her around.

"This is no joke, Amber. I worry about her."

"Don't, Hei. Bai is doing just fine."

"I'm getting sick of you Contractors! You do what you please, and kill without no regrets because you don't act on emotions. We humans are the ones that suffer so much, and sometimes I wish you all would die."

"Is that why you tried killing Bai after she killed all those Contractors a few weeks ago?" Amber frowned at Hei, which caused him to stare at her speechless. "Hei, we Contractors may not act on emotions, but it still lingers in us."

"I doubt it!" growled Hei.

Amber somberly glared at Hei. She then walked over to kiss him on the lips, surprising him. He was aroused at how tender and sweet her lips felt, but he gathered himself while pushing her away, and wiped at the aroma left behind as he tried holding his sister.

"What was the point of that?" barked Hei.

"To show you I can act on my emotions, Hei."

"Liar! You Contractors are deceivers! You don't fool me one bit!"

However, the sensation he was experiencing was getting the best of him. His heart quickened from the uncertainty that he was feeling, but he let it over take him and kissed her to drown in her luscious taste. It felt like to him that there was no such thing as normals and abnormals, but living human beings.

Present

The morning sun shined through the seam on her drapes and onto Misaki's eyelids. They twitched, which made her role onto her other side, and lay her hand where Li's chest would be, but she felt her covers instead. She opened her eyes to see Li wasn't present with her on her western-style bed. She began to fear he had left her, but then she smelled something cooking.

Misaki sat up while covering her body with her covers, and sniffed in the aroma in the air. She believed Li was still in her apartment cooking breakfast, making her blush at the thought. She slipped on her black panties, and threw on Li's shirt to button it up, as she lingered in his scent.

Misaki entered into her living room to see Li in his jean pants, and his upper muscular body exposed while flipping fried rice with salmon cooking in another pan.

"Good morning, beautiful," smiled Li at her.

Misaki's cheeks turned cheery red from his comment.

"Good… good morning, Li," she replied.

"Is my shirt comfortable?"

"Hai."

Misaki walked over to kiss him, losing her poise in his arms, and lingered in the moment they had had last night. It wasn't about a human or Contractor, but two living beings who loved each other deeply, and she didn't care what the public would say to that.

Suddenly, Misaki smelt something burning in which Li pulled away from her while screaming, "Oh, crap, the rice and salmon!"

He pulled the food off the stove and surveyed them. The bottom of the rice pan had been scorched with rice, carrots, and other vegetables, while the salmon was burnt on the bottom.

"I'm sorry, Misaki, I was trying to make the morning perfect for you," whined Li.

Misaki stared at him for a second, and then started laughing as she had on their so-called date. Li looked at her baffled, but then began to laugh as well. She gathered her composure and looked into his eyes.

"Li, just you being here with me is perfect," she smiled, and then kissed him. She slowly pulled away and asked, "Shall we eat?"

"Hai."

Li and her sat at a table and began eating. Even though the salmon was a little crispy, it still tasted wonderful. A burning itch of asking him something was playing at her mind, which she didn't want to ask in fear of ruining the splendid morning.

"Eh, Li," she decided to ask anyways. "Wh—what happened to you at New Sano?"

Li looked up at her lost for words with a piece of rice stuck to his left cheek, and a piece of salmon hanging down from his mouth.

He swallowed the salmon, and replied with "Nothing."

"Nothing?" questioned Misaki.

"Hai. All that had happened was a big flash of light, and then nothing."

"Is that so," smiled Misaki. She reached over the table, removed the rice from his cheeks, and ate it. "That's a relief."

"Eh, there is something else you should know. The Syndicate had put up a surveillance team across from your apartment to watch everything."

"What?" Misaki asked surprisingly. "Li, you need to get out of…"

"It's all right. I took care of them before seeing you, and they're fine, just knocked out. I even called the local police on them."

"Really," breathed out Misaki.

xxx

Yin walked towards Kiko's place to spend the day with her. She ascended the concrete stairs along the side of building up to the fifth floor, walked up to room 506, and knocked on the door. Yin waited a minute with no answer and knocked on it again.

There was still no answer. Yin figured she was at work and turned around to head back towards the elevator. Suddenly, the door opened as Kiko stuck her head out it.

"Eh, Yin?" questioned Kiko. Yin looked at her and nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," replied Yin.

"Really? Well that's great! I could use an extra pare of eyes. Eh, sorry about that."

"It's all right. You need help on a case?"

"Hai. Some old fart had hired Gai and me to find a Himura Hiro-san. He's a tall and slender man with dark-eyed and bowl-style black hair."

"What's the man's name who hired you?"

"Don't know. He had said he was a friend. All I know about him was that he looked like an American, and he wore brown raggedly clothes that smelled worse than Gai's cigarettes. He only gave us a picture of Hiro-san and a number."

Yin heard water streaming down the side of the wall from a leak. She placed her hand on it, and used her spectre to look at the picture. She noticed the man was the same one who had been kidnapped by the Syndicate.

"I'll help you find him."

"Really! Arigatou, Yin! Tell you what. Gai and I have a bet. If I find Hiro first, he's supposed to give me fifty percent of his share of the reward. If he finds him first, I have to give him my share. If we find him together, I'll give you his share, and part of mine. How's that?"

"All right," nodded Yin.

xxx

Saitou and Kouno stood in front of Yamato who looked displeased. Saitou knew they were going to receive the same lecture Misaki had gotten.

"Nothing?" he questioned. "You have nothing? Why?"

"Well, you see," coughed Saitou. "Kanami couldn't get an accurate reading where BK201 was, only what part of the community he was near."

"No excuses. I want BK201 arrested like last year."

"Like last year?" Kouno muttered. "But, sir, that's impossible when it comes to BK201. I heard not even a platoon of men can take him down."

"Would you two stop with the excuses!" shouted Yamato, as he stood while grabbing a folder and smacking it on his desk. "It's like talking with Kirihara Misaki here! I'm starting to wonder if I should fire all of you and build my own team! No doubt since I couldn't trust her, I shouldn't trust her former partners.

"I'll give you two and your partners a second chance, but another slip up and you all are gone! Understood!"

"Hai!" said Saitou and Kouno together.

"Good, now, I hired someone from my old unit to lead you all. Get in here, Kakuri!"

The commander's door opened to reveal a well-dressed Japanese man. His hair was neatly trimmed, which made him look like a perfectionist, and he had a rounded face with small oval-shaped black eyes. His dress shoes glistened from the lights shining off them.

"Officer Kakuri Misuyu reporting," he said.

"Officer Kakuri, this is Detective Saitou, and Detective Kouno," introduced Yamato. "You will be leading them on sightings concerning Contractors."

"Hai, I look forward to it." Kakuri bowed towards them.

Saitou and Kouno looked at him peculiarly, but they bowed too.

"All right, get to work," ordered Yamato.

"Hai, we will, sir," Kakuri bowed, which Yamato returned.

Saitou and Kouno gestured for their new chief to exit first, and followed him out while closing the door behind them.

"He seems like a brownnoser to me," said Kouno, causing Saitou to smile ear to ear.

Kanami walked up to her work smoking a cigarette, and then deposited it into an ashtray bin. She entered the Astronomy Division to be intercepted by the man she had gone with to the American party. He was blushing at her while he swished his right foot along the floor and held a dozen roses.

"He—hello, Kanami-san," he stuttered. "I—I got these for… for you, and, well, I was wondering if… if you would like to go on another… d—date, with me."

He held out the roses to Kanami who stared at them flabbergasted, and then at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry if I led you in the wrong direction, Chibisaka," she said. "But, I'm not looking to be in a relationship at the moment."

"Oh, sorry," he muttered.

"It's quite all right, but I do love the thought."

Kanami took the roses to smell them, making Chibisaka turn beat red, and then giggled from embarrassment. A woman with red dyed hair ran over to her.

"Kanami!" she yelled. "We have a situation!"

"What is it, Hina?" asked Kanami.

"It's Stargazer-sama, she is speaking again!"

"NANI?" shouted Kanami.

Kanami ran by her two co-workers down the hall, and entered the astronomy room with Hina and Chibisaka following.

"Sparkle, sparkle. Twinkle, twinkle," Stargazer-sama muttered. "Power, devastation. Panic, destruction and chaos."

Stargazer-sama chuckled.

"Oh my lovely stars; reveal you shall," she continued. "Fall from the heavens, you shall. Lay motionless with humans, you shall. Your future is unclear. One future is.

"Fearsome my little star was. Little star, confront death, his death. Reap was meant to be." She chuckled again. "Astounded they will be. Astounded they will be years past.

"Sparkle, sparkle. Twinkle, twinkle." Stargazer chuckled.

Everyone waited for her to speak again, but she lay motionless.

"What did she mean by that, Kanami-san?" asked Chibisaka.

"I don't know," she replied, but hearing Stargazer-sama say, 'reap,' made her think that Li, the Black Reaper, had something to do with it.

"So much for telling us things when she speaks in riddles," said Hina.

xxx

Yin and Kiko had asked a dozen people if they had seen Hiro, but nobody had. They got a lead off a homeless man near the JR line station in Shibuya. They went to check it out, but the trail and information was a couple days old. Kiko's face was burning red at the failed attempt.

Yin, holding a Coke-a-Cola bottle, dipped her index finger in it, and began looking around the city for him, as Kiko continued asking people.

Twenty minutes later Yin located him.

"Kiko, lets try the Meji Shrine," suggested Yin.

"All right," replied Kiko.

They walked through the commercial districts and entered the Meji shrine a few minutes later. They scanned the area around the sake bottles stacked in a row on top of each other, and along the tree line, as their feet skirted through the graveled walkway.

Moments later they located Hiro sitting on a bench, wearing the same clothes that Yin had seen him days ago, covered in dirt and his blood. His eyes were swollen and looked infected. He was trying to smile at the birds gathered in front of him as he fed them breadcrumbs.

"Ah, way to go, Yin!" cheered Kiko. She flexed her right arm as her eyes burned with victorious fury. "And since we found him first, Gai will have to cough over fifty percent of his money to me!"

Yin and Kiko approached Hiro, scaring off the birds, and making him frown at their departure.

"Himura Hiro-san?" Kiko asked.

His expression shimmered with shock and looked up at them, as he tried to peer through his puffy black eyelids.

"Do you know me?" he asked.

"Eh, no, we were hired by someone to find you," replied Kiko.

"Really? I have no idea whom I am. The last thing I remember was these big guys throwing me out of a van near a station that had said JR line. I have been asking anybody and everybody if they know me. A lot of people said no, or ran off screaming."

"You asked everybody? How come nobody knew you when we showed them your pictures?"

"Maybe because his face is all mangled up," guessed Yin. "So you don't know who you are?"

"No. Can you help me?" he asked

"Hai," nodded Kiko.

xxx

In the depths of Hell's Gate, an inspector wearing a white hardhat and white clothing was looking over work that had been completed on the Saturn System. Welders, grinders, air guns and men shouting orders echoed in the hanger-sized bay. Everything that worked sufficiently and held together with no stress on the joints, was checked for approval.

The unlawful machine was almost complete, and soon the Syndicate will be trying to wipe out the Contractors again, forcing EPR to come out of their holes and attack.

The inspector walked over to another section and began his test on the device. All the electrical work had been placed in right, which assured him that the unit on the machine would work properly. He checked the section off, and headed for the final section to inspect for the day.

He stepped in front of the machine and turned it on. It seemed to be running fine, but suddenly it started to wine, and the last thing the inspector saw was a hug organic ball of light engulfing him.

xxx

Mina Kandaswamy felt the ground rattle under her feet. Suddenly, alarms rang throughout the halls, as cleaning crews and scientists started running around in horror. Security guards ran down the corridors in which she decided to grab a Captain's arm to stop him.

He looked at her displeased and pulled his arm free from her grip. Mina backed away in fright and said, "Oh, my apologizes. I was just wondering what was going on?"

"An explosion!" he informed.

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree from the unexpected news.

"Really, where?" she asked.

"The Saturn System," he stated.

She looked downwards, knowing why the machine had been targeted, and she feared what was to come next. Mina believed that when the system had been completed, Hei would be making his way back here to destroy it, but since somebody had sabotaged it, it would be a while before he returned. She was pleased at the thought. The last thing she wanted him doing was risking his life to save billions of Contractors.

Suddenly, an anguish thought crossed her mind.

"Was anybody hurt?" Mina asked.

"From what I heard over my comm.," began the Captain, "an inspector turned on a switch and the thing exploded in his face."

Mina cringed at the news, feeling sorry for the Inspector, as the Captain motioned for his unit to continue forward. Things were getting out of hand again.

**Darker than Black**

Mito and Akira stood before the destroyed part of the Saturn System, as the cleaning crew sifted through the pile of rubble. They were picking up the Inspector's body parts, and scraping skin and bone parts that were running down the back wall and dripping off the catwalk.

"What happened?" asked Mito to the lead investigator.

"We're not sure, but we think this might have been sabotaged," said the investigator.

"Your proof," demanded Akira.

"We don't have any, but the worker who had put in the final touches had said he had turned on the machine with no problems. Also, he had said there wasn't anything on this thing that would make it go boom."

"You are right. You have a Contractor roaming around here."

"A Contractor? But I thought they go insane if they were around Ground Zero?"

"Baka, they just become more restless. It has to be someone that is working on the machine. Continue your investigation."

The investigator bowed and walked towards his men to start giving off orders. An Engineer, holding a clipboard, walked up to Akira and Mito, and bowed.

"How far back does this put you?" Akira asked.

"At least another month, or a month and half to fix the damages," said the engineer. "It is really putting a damper on my men since we were ahead of schedule, and we only had two weeks of work left."

"What if we bring in extra help, would you be able to fix it in half the time?" asked Mito.

"It'll help, but I don't think we could do what you ask."

"All right, arigatou. One other thing, we believe one of your men sabotaged the machine. We want all your files on them; including yours."

"Hai," the engineer bowed.

xxx

A CIA agent entered into a flimsy building and headed up to a private eye's office. He was in his mid-forties, and wore a tan trench coat that hid his plump size. His face was bulky and infested with acne that he tried hiding with an untrimmed beard. The man's beady dark eyes drew close to together under thick eyebrows, and his huge crooked nose had a wart on the right side.

The agent couldn't believe he had to resort into having a private eye detective help him find his double agent, Hiro, since he and his agency couldn't do it without drawing attention to them. He was supposed to call after the New Sano party, but he never did.

The CIA pretended to be an ally with the Syndicate, but their true intentions were to gather information from them. They were given a few documents, which weren't enough to them, and planted Hiro in the Syndicate's circle to get more. The CIA had been pleased he had moved up into the hire-ups.

They believed; if they were able to capture Contractors' powers, then they wouldn't need the Syndicate. However, if the Syndicate had found out the truth about their intention, then they would wipe them out. The CIA knew the Syndicate had had the upper hand, which forced them to work faster.

The CIA stepped before the Private eye's office and knocked on the door.

"It's opened," informed the former detective.

The CIA agent entered into a smoke filled room, causing the agent to cover his mouth and nose with his right sleeve. He was a heavy smoker too, but he did like to breathe in fresh air occasionally.

The private eye, Gai, was leaning back in his chair with his feet kicked up on his desk while he puffed on a cigarette. On his desk sat only his ashtray that had a dozen of cigarette butts smothered in a thick layer of ash. It looked like to the agent that Gai hadn't stepped out of his office all day.

"I g-got… a c-call from your… a-assistant that you… f-found Hiro," he coughed.

"Nani?" questioned Gai, as he sat up straight. "I think she's pulling your chain."

"I had… said the… same thing."

"Unless she had a Doll helping her. Nah, where would she find one, and where would she get the money to buy it?"

Even though the private eye didn't think that, it made sense why Hiro was found quickly.

Moments later the door burst open to show the pink girl, a silvered-hair girl, and a beat up Hiro. The pink girl frowned at the smoke infested air, plugged her nose, and stormed over to the window to air out the room. As the smoke slowly but surely cleared out, the pink girl's face started turning purple. She began waving heavily with her arms to force out the smoke faster, making her face grow darker in color, and causing her cheeks to bubble like they were going to explode.

Finally, as the last bit of dense air escaped, the pink girl puffed out her exhausted breath, and inhaled fresh air.

"I need to hire someone to install an air vent," said the pink girl.

"Well I'll be," said the agent, as he lowered his arm. "You did find him."

"But of course. With my friend's help," said the pink girl while smiling at the silver-haired girl.

The agent gazed at the silver-haired girl for a second, reading her body language, and realizing she was a Doll. Gai had been right.

"There's something you should know," said the pink girl. The agent looked over at her. "He lost his memory."

"Is that so," questioned the agent. "Let me worry about that."

He reached into his trench coat pocket, pulled out a wad of money, and tossed it onto the table. Gai smiled blissfully down at it, as the pink girl's mouth dropped open and her eyes sparked like diamonds while she clapped her hands together.

The CIA agent grabbed Hiro's shirt and guided him towards the door.

"Hey, wait? Do I really know you?" asked Hiro.

The CIA agent stopped, glared back at him, and said, "Yes. We are friends, and I have been worried about you since you have been missing for days."

"Really? And what is your proof that you know me?"

"For one, that picture I gave them, and two, how else would I know who you are?"

"All right. Tell me if I have a family."

"We don't have…"

"Tell me, or I stay with these people who found me."

The CIA agent frowned at him. Even though Hiro had lost his memory, he hadn't lost his ability to doubt what was fed him.

"No," said the agent, as he thought up a fast lie. "Your parents were killed when you were two. You've been living with my family. We're practically brothers."

The agent forced him to smile, and he cursed to himself for telling that lie. The truth was they weren't friends. They despised each other. If it were up to him, he would have left Hiro alone to rot.

"Do you have a picture of us with them?" Hiro asked.

The agent's veins began to pulse heavily on his forehead, as his face burned red. He didn't have such a thing like that to show him. How would he? Suddenly, he remembered the get-together party his company had formed. He still had the picture an older colleague and his wife had sent him with Hiro next to him. He pulled out his phone, opened his mail, and showed Hiro it.

"Oh, is that so?" said Hiro smiling. "Well, let's go see our mom and dad, brother."

Hiro wrapped his arms around the CIA agent and trotted out the door. The CIA agent couldn't wait to see Hiro's face when they reached their Head Quarters.

"So do I have a girlfriend?" asked Hiro. "Do we have sisters or other brothers? Oh, what about a pet? Maybe a few birds?"

The CIA agent frowned and figured they wouldn't make it to the American Embassy before he decided to shoot Hiro in the head.

Gai reached for the wad of money, but Kiko grabbed it, and started counting the yen. After she was done, she handed Gai twenty-five percent of it, which made him glare at her devilishly.

"We split the money fifty-fifty, Kiko," he said.

"You forget our bet?" asked Kiko.

"What bet?"

"The bet we made yesterday!"

"Oh, that bet. I forgot."

"You forgot on purpose so you wouldn't have to cough up your share."

Gai blinked at her baffled, but then he leaned back while waving at her and said, "Oh, no, not that. I had forgotten to tell you before you had left yesterday that I had crossed my fingers, so our agreement was nullified. I'll take my share if you please."

Gai smiled as he held out his left hand for his cash. Kiko's right eye twitched, grabbed his cigarette from his mouth, and smothered it in his hand. His face cringed in pain and stood while screaming and blowing at his scorched hand. He ran out of the room, stormed down the stairs, and then tripped to tumble all the way to the ground floor.

Kiko smiled at her performance, and turned towards Yin to hand over her share.

xxx

Mito and Akira returned to their building and headed up to the conference room. They entered it to see Brian and Ken were sitting in wait. Mito and Akira walked over to their assigned spot and took their seats.

"What happened?" asked Brian.

Mito laid down the information they had gathered.

"Is that what the investigator had said?" Ken guessed.

"That's what he thinks, but we know it's true since I had gotten word that JK991 was active around Hell's Gate," stated Akira

"Did you tell them they had a Contractor in their mix?" Brian asked.

"Hai."

"Do we have any leads of which engineer it is?"

"No," said Mito.

"Tsk, maybe we should kill them all one by one until his star falls," pouted Ken.

"Don't worry about it. Sooner or later he'll show himself."

"Let's hope it's not later. And do you really think this is going to work even without the right timing of the sun spot?"

"It should from Dr. Schrader's latest invention to absorb the sun spot. Unfortunately, we only have one shot at this or we have to wait four and a half years for the next one."

"Only one shot?" questioned Ken, as his eyes widened hysterically. He peered at Mito while frowning. "Couldn't he have made a backup system?" Mito narrowed his eyes at him for asking a trivial question. Ken looked away while sighing and rolling his eyes. "All right, sorry I asked! What's the latest concerning Kirihara Misaki?"

Mito and Akira glanced at each other startled from the question, and then looked back at Brain and Ken.

"Eh, well, we have a little problem with that," said Akira.

"What kind of problem?" Brain asked.

"Eh, it seemed that BK201 had caught onto our little plan and knocked our men out."

"And?" growled Ken since he knew the news wasn't going to be pleasant to hear.

"When they woke up they found themselves surrounded by the local police. Apparently someone had called them to say two guys were spying on a woman through a telescope. They were arrested as Peeping Toms."

"What?"

xxx

Hei and Misaki spent the day with each other in Shinjuku. Misaki had dragged him into the same clothing department she had caught him holding a bra. They spent a half an hour sorting through things with no worries about what was going on in the world, and bought so many different outfits.

"Oh, I think this blue jacket looks better than your green one, Li," said Misaki, as she pulled one off the rack. "I think you should get it."

"But I like my green one," said Li. "It feels comfortable."

"It's about time you changed your image. You need to get away from that dark image of yours. I'll buy it for you if you like?"

"No, I'll get it," smiled Li, pleasing Misaki.

After purchasing half a dozen clothes, they decided to sit down at a McDoness for lunch. Misaki placed an order for a quarter-pounder meal, as Hei asked for a dozen, which freaked out the cashier, and caused the workers in the back to awe in protest.

Twenty minutes later they sat down to eat. Customers noticed the pile of burgers stacked like a pyramid and blinked at them dumbfounded. Misaki ended up stealing a few of Li's fries, causing him to snatch a few of hers.

"Hey, that's mean," protested Misaki. "Even though a woman takes your food, you shouldn't eat hers."

"Is that so?" Li chuckled.

Misaki giggled and stole a few more of his fries. Li buoyantly shook his head and began downing his food. He ate one of his burgers in four bites, stuffed his mouth full of fries, and chomped them into tiny bits to swallow. He took one of his drinks and gulped down it in seconds.

He was pleased that she didn't tease him about his eating habits, or tell him he was going to get fat when he hit thirty. Because of it he felt like she was his soul mate.

Hei watched her eating her meal, and then steal another burger from his pile to devour it. He couldn't believe a tough woman like her had a side like this.

Misaki was about to bite down on her third burger she stole when she noticed Li staring at her, and stopped to gaze at him baffled.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No," said Li while shaking his head. "I just can't take my eyes off your beautiful face."

Misaki blushed slightly. She averted her eyes and continued eating part of his meal. Li grabbed another one of his burgers and chomped it down.

Once their stomachs were filled, the couple decided to catch a movie starring a famous J-Rock signer. Misaki blushed at the poster, as Li walked over to her with the tickets.

"He's cute," she said.

"I heard about him," muttered Li, a hint of jealousy in his voice. "People say he passes out after every concert."

"That's mean, Li," scolded Misaki. "But you have to admit he has a great voice."

"I'm not sure. Yin has talked about him because of Kiko."

"Kiko? Not that little girl who called me obasan back on our first date?" Misaki frowned.

"Hai. Wait, first date? You—first date?"

"Li, we went out together, isn't that right? It was a date."

"Ah, hai. Shall we go inside?"

Misaki nodded and laced her arm through his. The theater was crowded with people, mostly of fans of the main character, in which they struggled to get seats next to each other. Li looked as if he was enjoying the movie, which pleased Misaki, as she leaned up against him with his right arm wrapped around her.

After the movie, they decided to return to the batting cages. Li stood in the same cage with her, took swings in each other's arms, and connected with a few balls. The last one they missed and fell on each other with Misaki laying on top and staring down while laughing.

Their eyes met, not parting away, which urged Misaki to press her lips onto his. The day had been a splendid one, making Misaki wish it would never end, but it had to. She pushed those worries to the back of her brain and melted in the last moments she had with Li.

xxx

"What did you say?" shouted Kanami to Misaki. They sat outside the Astronomy Tower under a cloudless afternoon. "You went out with Li-kun yesterday? Misaki!"

"Quiet, Kanami," pleaded Misaki while waving her hands in front of her friend. "Li and I don't need everybody knowing that."

"Really? What are you going to do if someone had recognized you on the streets, recorded you two walking around, and then posted it on the Internet? Also, didn't you promise to go see that movie with me?"

"Sorry, Kanami. I didn't think you would mind since I went with Li."

Kanami titled her head curiously.

"Misaki… whatever happened to calling him Li-kun?"

"Eh, well, oh how can I say this?" Misaki began to blush.

"EEHHH! You two didn't!" Kanami shockingly pointed at Misaki who blushed even more. "YOU TWO DID!"

"Kanami, please, keep it down," pleaded Misaki while she motioned her hands up and down in a gesture to lower her voice.

"How can I when my best friend slept with a Contractor!"

"Don't—don't say it like that. It was more than just a one-night stand."

"I never said it was, especially when some of my dates don't stick around in the morning. It must have been nice to wake up next to him."

"No, I didn't," replied Misaki, and told her friend about yesterday morning.

"He made you breakfast?" blinked Kanami, and then narrowed her eyes. "Does Li-kun have a brother by any chance?"

Misaki embarrassedly smiled.

xxx

Glossary of Japanese words

Nani: What

Soka: Really

Wakatta: All right

Arigatou: Thank you


	16. Chapter 16

Darker than Black

Chapter Sixteen: The Return of Evening Primrose

Before the battle of Hell's Gate:

Amber stood in the small, clean apartment they had rented while staring out the window at the cloudless and purple night sky. The city lights glimmered in the dark with the sounds of horns honking and trains running by. It seemed so peaceful below for Tokyo's occupants, but they didn't know that Armageddon was around the corner.

The time to strike Pandora was drawing near, and her life was ending. How she wished the meteor had never struck Tokyo and South America. Maybe she would have worked her way over to China from London, met Hei there, and maybe they would have had a life together.

Unfortunately, there had been no way to see an alternate world like that. She could only interfere with what was human meddling and not nature. In addition, even if she could, she didn't know if Hei would love a forty-year-old woman. Amber thought it funny that her obeisance made her younger, excluding the old saying, 'not getting any younger.'

Amber was pleased her tampering with time had saved Hei from the upcoming battle that he was meant to die in with Yin, but another disaster had mixed its way into her plans. Things were coming down to the wire and one wrong decision would throw everything off.

There was a knock on her door.

"It's unlocked," said Amber.

She gazed at the door that was reflecting off the window, and watched it open to show Zhijun Wei entering. He swaggeringly approached her and stopped a few meters away.

"You wanted to see me, Amber?" Wei asked.

"Hai," nodded Amber still looking out the window. "I wanted you to guide Hei to the wall in the subway."

"Is that so?" smirked Wei. "Aren't you afraid I will try to kill him?"

"No, I know you won't kill him," Amber shook her head, as she turned to look at him.

"As you wish, Amber," Wei bowed, trying to hold back a smile.

He exited the room, his grin making its way onto his face, and closed the door behind him.

He was a foolish man. She knew too well he wanted to kill Hei, and Wei should have figured he wouldn't defeat him if she was sending him, but Amber knew it was his pride.

It didn't matter to her. All she cared about was saving her kind and seeing Hei one last time before joining Bai. It had been five years since that unforgettable moment. Bai had demanded she get Havoc and James out, but Amber pleaded to help her. She refused it since there had to be someone to live and deal with the Syndicate five years later. Amber had asked about Hei. Bai had said she would save him. Amber had complied and put her trust in her friend.

After Heaven's Gate had disappeared and Havoc and James had lost their powers, Amber tried to get to Hei and see if he was all right. She had heard he was in New Mexico, making her pleased he was still alive. She was also flabbergasted to know that he had Bai's power. She knew then what Bai had done.

Amber wanted to see him, but she figured Hei blamed Havoc, James and her for Bai's disappearance. She decided to keep her distance from him. When she had finally met him a while back, it pained her deeply that Hei had slapped her face.

Her door opened again. Brita entered and sexually walked towards Amber with her trademark smile.

"You wanted to tell me something alone, Amber?" asked Brita.

"I want you to continue running Evening Primrose after I am gone," replied Amber.

"Me?" Brita stared perplexed. "But shouldn't it be Amagiri who leads us?"

"Amagiri is going to die."

"Nani? Hey, I'm teamed up with him. Aren't I going to die as well?"

"No, you survive with two degree burns."

"Eh, my good looking face and hot body is going to get toasted? I hope I don't look like a freak afterwards."

"No, you'll be all right."

"So why me and not Wei or someone else?"

"Wei also dies, and he wouldn't be a good leader."

"And I become a good one?"

"I have seen so many different versions of the future, Brita, and one I had seen was you leading EPR into Hell's Gate to stop Pandora from ridding Contractors of their power."

"The way you speak I had succeeded," Brita flirted.

"No, you failed and were killed." Amber shook her head. Brita's uncanny smile turned into a distorted glare. "But the effort you gave is why I want you to lead everybody."

"Amber?" Brita looked at her confused.

"It's quite all right."

Brita excused herself from the room, as Amber looked out at the city and reminisced on what she had seen in the future. It had hurt her to see Hei had had a daughter, wishing Riku was hers, but fate could never allow that.

Amber smiled at remembering she had removed Officer Kirihara's glasses back at the shrine from her jealousy towards the woman, but she also felt sorry for her since she was going to lose Hei within nine months from now.

Present

Hei sat alone in his apartment by the window with the streetlight shining on his face, as he thought about Misaki. Yesterday had been a splendid day, and he didn't want it to end. His time with her had pushed all the headaches and worries away. He smiled and lingered in the memory.

She had somehow bewitched his heart and had taken a hold of what was left of his soul. Hei felt alive and more like his old self with her before Heaven and Hell's Gate had appeared almost eleven years ago.

Unfortunately, their time together wouldn't be for very long. Hei figured he had only a couple of months left before he would be killed by Mito. He promised Riku he wouldn't die, but he didn't know if he could keep it.

His thoughts were altered as the door opened to show Yin entering.

"Did you have a fun day with Misaki-san?" asked Yin.

"Hai," replied Hei. "I'm sorry for leaving you alone yesterday, Yin."

"It's quite all right, Hei. I went to see Kiko at her office, and I helped her find someone she was looking for on a case. I was also given a portion of the reward too."

"That's good to hear. Eh, did you use your spectre to find who you two were looking for?"

"Hai, but Kiko doesn't know. I didn't think I should tell her."

"Yin, she's your friend. I don't think she would mind if she found out. The Kiko in the future had to have known, and she met your future self and Riku for lunch."

"Really?"

"Hai."

Yin was quiet while thinking.

"All right. I'll tell her," she finally said.

"That's good to know." Hei smiled.

xxx

The CIA agent had to tolerate a half an hour of Hiro asking him annoying questions. He stood in a dark observing room watching through a one-way window, as top doctors stuck needles in Hiro's head to see if they could gather any memory. Hiro had panicked when he was taken away, and he had yelled for the CIA agent to help him. All he did was wave at him goodbye.

He was glad to be back at the United States primal American Embassy. New Sano had been mostly for guest, whereas for here they performed their secret projects. When the engineers had finished building the time machine, they had to transfer it secretly to New Sano so they could run the experiment.

Unfortunately, the machine was a failure even with all the power they had abstracted from the city. There had been a few blackouts for a couple of minutes, but the Japanese Government couldn't link it back to the American Embassy.

The door to the observing room opened. The CIA agent looked towards it to see John Jiggles, the Director of the CIA, enter and close the door behind him. He was a forty-year-old skinny man with an arched back and balloon-like head that was bald in the middle. The Director came up to the CIA agent's right side, and looked through the one-way looking glass while crossing his arms.

"Anything?" asked the Director.

"No, sir," said the CIA agent.

"I take it you're enjoying Agent Himura being poked with needles, right, Agent Hicks?"

"I would be lying if I said no, sir."

The director smirked.

"I came by to tell you I'm canceling Project Contractor Ability Technical System."

"Canceling CATS? But, sir! We are so close to obtaining Contractor-like powers! I swear a few tweaks on the machine; we'll have the ability to travel through time."

"These orders come from the President himself, Agent Hicks. He thinks it's impossible to gain their power. I myself feared this program has been a waste of time. We are to look into other options starting now."

Agent Hicks frowned at the director, but nodded to the orders. He was making a big mistake. If the Syndicate were able to finish their monstrosity of a machine; they would have dominion over everything. It was the last thing the United States Government wanted since they feared their terrine over the world would diminish.

The Director turned around to exit the room. Hicks continued watching the doctors poke and scan at Hiro's brain. This was the only thing that was pleasing him.

xxx

Misaki entered her apartment and sat down on the couch. How she wished Hei was with her to spend some more quality time together, but it was too risky for them to be around each other for so long. She cursed at her peeping toms across the street and wished they would leave her alone.

They had also been tailing her throughout the city, watching her shop for food and clothes. It was somewhat annoying, but she found it funny when she walked over to police officers and told them she had a stalker. The cops had taken care of her problem.

She turned on the news to hear there had been an explosion at Hell's Gate.

"_From what we have heard, it will take Pandora longer to fix the damages,_" said the newscaster. _"I had asked who might be behind the attack, but the person in charge of the investigation had no comment on the subject."_

Misaki frowned, but also smiled, believing she knew what organization was behind the attack. Things were going to get interesting, and she knew Li was going to be involved with it.

Five years ago at Heaven's Gate:

Hei woke up from the kiss that was torturing his mind that he had shared with Amber yesterday. It had been intoxicating and mesmerizing, but was it one of her games to tease him, or was the kiss genuine? Probably to mess with his mind and maybe kill him when his guard was down.

He snapped out of his trance and looked to his right where Bai lay, but she wasn't there. Hei then noticed Amber was missing as well, along with Havoc and James.

"Hey, where's my sister and Amber?" asked Hei in English to a tall American Contractor who was walking by.

"How would I know?" he said.

Hei snorted and stood to roam around and find his sister. The camp took up two acres in a circular diameter with half a dozen fires burning under pot that were cooking food. Sleeping bags were laid out or rolled up around murky ground. A few men, woman and Contractors sat around some of the fires eating meals. Others were trotting about as they readied for their mission. Unfortunately, Hei didn't see any signs of his sister.

"Hey, Cho, have you seen my sister and Amber?" he asked in Cantonese to a Chinese woman with long silky hair.

"Sorry, but no," she replied.

"I did," spoke up a Japanese man. "They left camp two hours ago with Havoc and James."

"Really? Where?"

"I don't know."

"Damn it!" said Hei, through clenched teeth.

He feared that Amber was going to do something to his sister with the other two Contractors. If they did he would take his wire and hang them up on a tree by the neck.

"Contractors like them really disgust me!" growled Hei. "The world could do without those ignorant beings."

Suddenly, the ground started shaking. The people gathered in the camp stumbled from the unexpected quake, and began to wonder where it was coming from. Hei thought at first Bai had something to do with it, but he didn't recall her power creating an earthquake. He then believed it had to be caused by another Contractor, and timorously guessed his sister was involved.

An eruption sounded in the distance. Everyone turned to look in the direction and saw a hug ball of light heading towards the camp quickly, as the explosion grew louder. The camp's occupants screamed out in fear and ran in the opposite direction, a few knocking others down and trampling over them, or accidentally shoved others into the fire. Hei stood still, as if an answer to where his sister lied beyond it.

Within seconds he was engulfed in the light only to black out from it.

_**Darker than Black**_

Present:

A tall and skinny welder was cutting apart a damaged section of the Saturn System with a cutting wheel. Sparks scattered about him, as he pressed down to slice through the metal like butter. His face was covered in soot, and his clothes had spots of holes where molten spatter had burned through. His safety glasses had a few scratch marks on them, and his hard hat had seen better days.

After two minutes of cutting the piece, it was severed off and clanked onto the catwalk. The welder began on the next damaged section, as an engineer, looking spiffy with his white clean clothes and brand new hard hat, walked up to him screaming something.

The welder halted his work and pulled out his earplugs to shout, "What?"

"Can't you cut this stuff faster?" repeated the Engineer, as he touched the metal.

"I can if you and your lazy buddies stop interrupting me every five minutes!" shot back the welder.

"We've got a deadline to meet, and you're holding us up!"

"If I hurry up too quickly then what you replace might not fit right! It's either quality or quantity; not both!"

"Just hurry up!"

The engineer walked off, as the welder gave an improper hand gesture behind his back, and then put his earplugs back in his ears. He raised the cutting wheel to continue his work, but the metal exploded, causing the grinder to fling out of the welder's hand, and send him over the catwalk to fall ten stories. He didn't feel the sudden stop since the explosion had killed him.

xxx

"Another sabotage?" questioned Ken in the Syndicate's Conference room. "What is it this time?"

Mito told his colleagues the details.

"This is getting out of hand," commented Brian. "How long now?"

"We are fortunate on that," said Mito. "The area the sabotager blew up already had damage."

"Then why destroy something that's already ruined?" asked Brian.

"Probably to kill a worker," guessed Mito.

"If you ask me, I think the sabotager might have given his identity up," said Akira.

"How's that?" asked Brain.

"Check the video that was recording him. Maybe we can find out who is behind this since maybe the perpetrator talked, or was around the welder."

"Good suggestion, Akira," applauded Mito.

"No it's not!" shouted Ken. "I'm sure there were a lot of people running their mouths at him to work faster since we have been on their case."

"We might get lucky, Ken," pointed out Brian.

"It's all we got too," said Mito. "I'll have one of our men check on that."

Day after Heaven's Gate explosion

Hei woke up in a white room with people staring down at him in white robes. He was dressed in a hospital gown that exposed his chest and rear end. He then noticed two small–rounded things stuck to his chest with wires running to an electronic device that gave a reading on his heart rate standing to his right.

He felt different, like he didn't care, as he tried to sit up, but the men and women in robes pushed him back down.

"Where am I?" he asked.

"A Military base in Clovis New Mexico," someone said.

"What happened in South America?" asked someone else.

"I was hoping you could tell me," grunted Hei. "Where are my sister and Amber?"

"We don't know," said the first person. "We were hoping you could tell us since you and two others were the only survivors."

"Who else?"

"James and Havoc. We know Amber and your sister survived since their stars didn't fall, but there was no trace of them."

"Nani? What did James and Havoc say?"

"They don't remember what had happened."

Hei stared at them lost for words. Had Amber done something to them to make them forget? If so, and she had done something to his sister, he would make her pay with her life.

"Where are they now? I want to speak with them."

"I'm sorry, but that's out of the question," said the first person.

"I want to SPEAK with them!" Hei shouted, as he lost his composure.

Unexpectedly, his body outlined in blue and he electrocuted the man. Hei stared flabbergasted at the man lying on the ground, as a nurse nearby kneeled next to him to check for a pulse on his neck. She held her fingers there for a moment, and then drew them away shaking her head.

Hei sat motionless, wondering how he had obtained his sister's power. He figured he was going to pass out to fulfill the contract, but he didn't.

Present

An engineer walked up to a section that had been fixed two weeks ago. He wasn't really an engineer, but pretended to be one so he could sneak into Pandora and sabotage the Saturn System so his organization could gather supporters.

He placed his hand on the device's computer to booby-trap it, and walked away from it. As he got one hundred yards away, the Contractor readied to snap his fingers, but someone grabbed him from behind, and slammed him onto the ground.

"Not this time, Jokeru," said the man on top of him. "Or is that your real name?"

"What Contractors use their real names?" the Contractor stated.

"Don't worry, we'll find out your real name. We're going to interrogate you until you bleed to death."

The man put Jokeru's hands behind his back and cuffed them. He then lifted him up and shoved him forward. Jokeru smirked at the thought since they wouldn't even get that far. He smiled as he snapped his fingers.

The machine exploded, creating a flood of hot air in the vicinity and sending shrapnel everywhere. Workers and the guards ducked from the sudden rupture. The Contractor touched his cuff with his left index finger, and snapped his fingers again. The explosion blew off his hands, and sent shrapnel into his back, killing him. At least he won't have to do karaoke anymore to fulfill his contract.

The Syndicate sat in the conference room a few hours later after the spy Contractor had taken his life. They weren't too happy with their employees not securing the captive properly. Because of their ignorance the machine had been damaged. Work on repairing it had started immediately.

"It looks like our troubles are behind us," said Ken. "I'm impressed we caught him before anymore damage could be done."

"You're so ignorant, Ken," said Brian.

"Nani? Want to say that again to my face?"

"I say that because we still don't know who he worked for."

"Enough!" shouted Mito.

Ken and Brain looked over at him and noticed his face was burning red from their bickering. They quieted down and let Mito speak.

"I think everyone here knows or can guess who he had worked for," he stated.

"And who do you think that is?" Brian asked.

"Evening Primrose," said Akira.

"Evening Primrose?" asked Ken. "But I thought Amber was dead?"

"Just because she's dead doesn't mean they aren't still active. We think one of her former followers had taken over her organization. The only top candidate is Brita."

"Brita? That flirt? Oh please," said Ken disbelievingly.

"It makes sense," said Brian. "She was one of her trusted comrades and she is the only one still alive from the war a few months ago."

"You're all insane!"

xxx

Brita stood in a spacious murky room staring out a room-sized window looking at Hell's Gate, as heavy rain doused the clustered city. She had frowned at the sight of seeing a star fall, and after hearing a Contractor had blown himself up; she figured it had been Jokeru. He had fulfilled her request to the end.

It had been hard for her to take over Amber's place, but she did have a helping hand. Her adviser had suggested on putting someone on the inside to slow down the Syndicate so EPR could build up its army. Unfortunately, she had lost one.

It was for the greater good, and she wouldn't have cared for his loss, but for some reason her emotions had been taken a toll on her. She couldn't explain why, but she knew Amber had known the answer to that. All she had said to them was that Contractors were evolving, and she had put together EPR because of it. Amber wouldn't tell the other reason why since it was personal to her.

Someone entered the room.

"I heard Jokeru's damage that he had caused will give us a few months, Brita-sama," said a man.

"Good, that should buy us some time to gather more Contractors," stated Brita. "How are things going?"

"Well, okusama. We have been able to replace seventy percent of what we had lost during Hell's Gate's war."

"Rihayatsu, don't call me madam again."

"Sorry, Brita-sama," the man bowed.

"It's quite all right."

"What about Jokeru? Do you think that was his star?"

"I do," she finally said.

"Do you blame yourself for his demise?"

Brita didn't reply to his comment since she thought on how to answer it. Should she show affection in front of one of her minions, or should she keep it to herself. After a few minutes of silence, as she flipped a yen in her head a dozen times to give her an answer, she came up with one.

"No, he knew what he was getting into," said Brita finally. "It was his decision to go in. What Jokeru did we shouldn't let it go to waste? Continue your work on recruiting Contractors that aren't brain washed."

"Hai. Do you need me for anything else, Brita-sama?" Rihayatsu asked.

"No. That will be all."

"Hai."

Rihayatsu exited the room. Brita stood looking out the window while letting out a breath. Things were going to be interesting in a few months.

xxx

A/N: My apologies for not having any Li/Misaki moments. This is more of a setup chapter. I need a time delay for the next chapters, and this is what this chapter is.

I hope you enjoyed, and I promise the next three chapters you won't be disappointed.

Japanese Words:

Hai: Yes

Iie: No

Soka: Really

Wakatta: All right

Okusama: Madam


	17. Chapter 17

Darker than Black

Chapter Seventeen: Misaki's Past Untold

Kirihara Naoyasu stood in a bathrobe staring out his window as the cold night rain pounded on it. The darkened apartment felt Closter phobic with a shade blocking view of his mistress sleeping on a futon behind it. The tatami chilled the bottom of his feet and the cold air formed goose bumps along his arms. Nothing else littered the room since he was using it only for his personal needs.

He felt uneasy about something that made him unable to sleep. Naoyasu had figured it was the lies he kept on feeding to his daughter, but it seemed more like something from his past was about to surface. He hadn't had these emotions since before his wife had died and wondered what it meant. Unable to put a finger on it scared him to death.

Naoyasu stared at Hell's Gate and cursed the thing under his breath. He wished the two craters had never developed. He would still have had a normal job, his wife, and maybe his daughter wouldn't have followed in his footsteps.

Moaning sounded behind him. A woman wearing sexy lingerie stood and rounded the drape to walk up to him sexually. She laced her hands under his robe to feel his warm chest and pressed her breast against his back.

Naoyasu didn't look back at the woman he had taken to the New Sano party, nor glance at her reflection in the window. His mind was too wound up with what was eating at his kidney.

"Hey, Naoy-ai, come back to bed," she sexually pleaded.

"I'll be there in a minute," he said.

"What's wrong, Naoy-ai?"

"Nothing."

"Naoy-ai, I know when you're lying. What's wrong? Is it about your daughter? I don't think she has a clue about us."

"No, it's not about her, and she does know."

Megumi backed away and looked at him upset in the window saying, "And when were you going to tell me?"

"I hadn't planned on telling you since you don't have to worry."

"Then what's bugging you, Naoy-ai?"

He didn't respond to her question, as he continued looking out at the city. Naoyasu closed his eyes and then said, "An old feeling."

xxx

In the country side of Narita an airport scarcely sat along the coastline with trees and hillsides blanketing it from the town's view nearby. Airplanes from across the globe were landing continuously while others took off for a short or long trip. Men and women on the flight line were hard at work directing planes to or from docks, as luggage and cargo transporters scurried along with passenger luggage.

A Boeing 747 that had departed from California started making its approach. It swayed slightly to the right, which the pilot corrected. He slowed down the speed to where the plane felt as if it was riding down an invisible steep hill before easing out, and then landed safely moments later. The pilot pulled back on the throttle to descend its speed, making the plane grumble and shake. Within seconds it slowed down to around fifty kilometers to turn a corner. The plane came to a stop so workers could hook up an aircraft tractor to guide it over to a gate.

Once it was docked, the stewardess opened the hatch and ushered off their passengers, as they bowed and thanked them for flying with them. The passengers returned the gesture as they exited: except for a particular Japanese woman.

She was average height with an hourglass figure, beautiful skin, and long brown hair. She wore a blue business suit, dress shoes, and a pair of narrow red-lens sunglasses. The Japanese woman exited the plane and swaggered down the Jetway determined to take on the world. She stopped by a window to stare fearlessly out at the grassy plain that lay before her for a minute. She pulled her glasses off to reveal light brown eyes that seemed to kill if stared at too long. The Japanese woman smirked, which seemed to give a false pretense of her mood.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Kirihara?" she muttered.

xxx

Kirihara Misaki was scrounging around her local grocery store with a spring in her step, as she kept on thinking about Li and their time together. How marvelous it had felt to be with him, and she longed to be in his arms again.

She picked up a few bananas, walked over to gather some apples in a bag, and grabbed some celery. Misaki trotted over to the greasy food section and threw a few pounds of meat, French fries, and other things that would put a few pounds on someone.

Misaki paid for her stuff and exited the store to head over to her car. She was pleased to have it back. She had gotten a call in the morning that her vehicle was ready for pickup. Misaki hurried over to the Police Body Shop, and looked over it to see if there were any scratches, dents or anything else. Lucky for them there wasn't.

She placed her groceries in her trunk, closed it, and rounded the car to open the driver side door. Suddenly, someone in a blue coat standing across the street caught the corner of her right eye. Misaki turned her head to see the person enter a nearby alley. She smiled and Jaywalked across the street, as angry motorist honked at her.

Misaki took a few steps in the darkened and damp alley and scanned the area for him, but she only saw trashcans and recycling bins. She wondered if her mind was playing tricks on her. She turned around disheartened and depressed, until she found herself staring at a pair of admirable blue eyes. Misaki smiled and pressed her lips onto Li's, taking in his taste, as he drew her close to him and ran his hands through her hair.

They broke away from each other only for air, as their kissing intensified. Misaki's desires to be with him grew stronger from his body against hers. She hopped on his hips in which Li pinned her against the wall for support, as she pressed her palms against his cheeks to squeeze out every drop of his luscious taste. Misaki wanted him to hold her in his arms, kiss her passionately, and feel his bare chest against hers. She desired for him to take her away from the corrupted world and make love to her as he had done the previous night.

He peeled his lips from hers and said, "I missed you, Misaki."

"Me too, Li," she said. "You're risking a lot being here."

"I know, but I had to. It was killing me not to be by your side. I love you."

Misaki stared into his eyes, knowing he wasn't lying, and smiled as she kissed him again. The question if humans and Contractors could live together had no doubt been answered from their love.

xxx

Kirihara Naoyasu sat in a conference room in the Foreign Affair's Head Quarter. He didn't pay any attention to the conversation. His concern was on the nausea in the pit of his stomach, and the aching feeling that was tearing at his heart.

Naoyasu had locked away that nightmare years ago, but for some reason it had resurfaced. He tried to push it to the back of his brain, but it continued to boggle his mind.

Naoyasu noticed the tedious meeting was adjourned and stood from his seat to exit the room. He felt his stomach growl in which he decided to get something to eat. Naoyasu departed the police station, entered his red BMW, and drove over to his favorite ramen store.

He stepped into the coffined restaurant that was somewhat crowded with customers blabbing away about nonsense. It had a few booths along the sidewalls, and seven tables gathered in the middle surrounded by four chairs. The cooking area sat in the back blocked by a tall white countertop where the orders were placed. Naoyasu sat at a table in the middle.

A waiter approached and said, "Can I get you something?"

"Just a bowl of ramen soup," Naoyasu ordered.

The waiter nodded and walked off into the back.

Naoyasu's mind slipped into his past concerning one terrible and haunting night. How terrified he had been as he had tried to make sense of the situation, and how sickened he had felt when after learning the truth. He had wondered how someone could do such a thing.

No matter how he looked at it, Naoyasu had no choice. If Misaki ever found out the truth she would hate him.

His waiter approached him and served his food. Naoyasu took a pair of chopsticks, and downed his food to extinguish the bitterness he was feeling, but it did no good.

Were these feelings returning because his daughter was falling in love with BK201? If so, how could he rid of it? The only other option Naoyasu had was killing him. However, could Misaki forgive him?

Naoyasu finished his meal and exited the restaurant. He got within a few meters of his car and saw a woman dressed in a business suit and wearing red sunglasses. Fear overwhelmed the pit of his stomach, as his heart pounded with anguish.

"Wh—what… what are…?" he tried to say, and then gulped in fright.

"Come now, Naoyasu, all these years and not a hello?" the woman asked with a dead smile.

"Why—why have you… come back?"

"To see her, of course. Where is she?"

Naoyasu narrowed his eyes while clenching his teeth. He pulled out his gun from his holster, aimed it at her, and pulled the trigger in hope of getting the drop on her. Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough. Her body outlined in blue, as her eyes burned red to stop the bullet in mid-air. It dropped harmlessly to the ground after she released her power.

"That wasn't nice, Naoyasu," she stated, still presenting her dead smile. "Now I need to get something to eat. Ah, your old ramen restaurant will do, even though it's not greasy food. And how about you join me so we can catch up on old times."

Naoyasu glared at her devilishly, wanting to end her life, and wished that he had done so long ago. He settled himself down and nodded. They entered the store and sat at a booth along the right wall. A waitress came up to them to take their order.

"I already ate," said Naoyasu, as he waved her off.

"What about you, miss?" the waitress asked.

"I'll take ten bowls of regular ramen, and ten bowls of ramen with pork," the woman ordered.

"EEHH? Are you serious?"

"Hai."

The waitress retreated to the backroom and gave the order to the chef.

"NANI?" he screamed.

Everybody in the restaurant stopped gossiping and eating to look towards the back room. The chef was staring at the sunglasses woman's order with bulged eyes, as sweat poured down his face. He wiped it away while sighing and started cooking the meals. The customers gazed away from the back room and began eating and talking once more.

"I thought I had made myself clear you were to never return," Naoyasu stated.

"I had to see her, Nao. It's been so long."

"Don't you kid me, Maya. You tried to kill her when she was sixteen!"

"I wasn't in my right mind."

"And you are now? You're a Contractor for crying out loud!"

She gave him a hurtful expression that seemed to give off a false pretense.

"Contractors are changing, Nao, or haven't you noticed?" questioned Maya. "I'm sure you have. We are acting more on our emotions."

"You expect me to believe that? Contractors are deceivers!"

Their waitress and another young waitress walked over to Naoyasu and Maya's table with eight bowls of regular ramen and sat them in front of her. Maya picked up her chopsticks and began eating her food. The customers looked at her amazed, as she devoured and gulped down five bowls in minutes.

"Delicious!" she said. "I forgot how good this tastes. You know, over in the U.S., they can't get the perfection in this like over here."

Maya grabbed another, as the two waitresses settled a few more bowls down. Naoyasu watched while he grinded his teeth together.

"How is it you haven't gotten fat?" he asked.

Maya looked over her eighth bowl with narrowed eyes and said, "It's not nice to say fat in front of a lady."

"Stop the act, Maya. You're far from being a lady."

"And you a gentleman."

Naoyasu snorted and looked away from her. They said nothing to each other as Maya chowed down five more bowls. The waitress dropped off the last few bowls, and bowed for Maya to enjoy her meal.

Minutes later she finished her meals while patting her stuffed stomach.

"Oh, I can't eat another bite," said Maya.

"I bet," barked Naoyasu.

"So will you let me see her?"

"Are you out of your mind? I won't risk letting you try to kill her again."

"If you're going to be like that, I'm leaving."

Maya stood while throwing down a few one thousand yen, and walked out the door. Naoyasu glared at it devilishly, but then realized she had referred to him as Nao. Maya had not called him that after she had turned into a Contractor. Was it another one of her games, or was she sincere?

Naoyasu pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number. He placed it to his right ear as it started to ring. Moments later a voice came over it and said, "_Akira desu."_

"Why didn't you tell me she's back?" Naoyasu asked.

"_She? You mean, Maya? She's here?"_

"Don't act all innocent, Akira. You had to have known she left California!"

"_We knew she left, but we didn't know where."_

"And you didn't think it was wise to tell me? She wants to see her."

"_Really? Well, you got another problem. BK201's with your daughter right now."_

_xxx_

Misaki lay on top of Li under her covers kissing him. Their bodies were doused in sweat and their breathing was heavy after their intense moment together. Misaki ran her hands along Li's bare muscular chest, which felt soothing to her touch, and smiled at each other between kisses.

Li rolled her onto her side and caressed her chin with his left hand, as he looked into her eyes. Misaki could see what he was thinking, and she prayed he wouldn't. She shook her head, indicating that she didn't want him to go. He didn't say anything to her, but showed in his eyes he didn't want to either, but he couldn't stay around during the day.

He gave her one last kiss and climbed out of bed. Misaki watched him dress to remember every little feature of his body, as she bit her lip at the hunk of a man she had. She jumped out of bed to wrap her arms around him, and pressed her body against his skin, as he buttoned his pants.

"I don't want you to go, Li," she lovingly whispered in his ear.

"I'm sorry, my love, but I can't stay."

"I know."

"I love you, Misaki," he said.

Hei gazed over his shoulder to give her a couple pecks on the lips. He pulled away from her, grabbed his button up shirt, and exited the apartment. Misaki reentered her bedroom and hopped onto her bed. She smiled with glee as she wrapped her covers around her naked body and lingered in Li's aroma. She wanted him back in her arms, kissing her and caressing her, but their fates kept pushing them apart.

Misaki wondered years from now what their relationship would be like. Would they still be together, or would they be kilometers away from each other? She didn't want to think about the future now. All she cared about was being with Li.

There was a knock at her door. Thinking it was Li, Misaki departed her bed, grabbed her clothes that were lying on the floor, and threw them on quickly. She entered her living room, stepped before her door, and looked through the peephole to see her father.

Misaki opened the door and asked, "Otosan, what are you doing here?"

"Can't a father stop by and say hello to his daughter?" he smiled.

"Ah, sorry. Come in."

Her father entered and started scanning the room, noticing it was a mess, and then looked back at her to take in her appearance.

"He's been here, hasn't he?" he asked.

"That's none of your business, Otosan," stated Misaki.

"Misaki, he's a Contractor. You shouldn't get yourself involved with him. He could go berserk at any moment and kill you."

"He wouldn't do that."

"You think that? He almost killed his own sister years ago!"

Misaki looked at him overwhelmed with shock, and asked, "How… how would you know that?"

"It doesn't matter. I love you too much to see something bad happen to you. I'm begging you to stay away from him, and any other Contractors. They are dangerous! Will you do that for me, Misaki?"

Misaki stared at her father displeased, but nodded. She wasn't going to listen to him. She loved Li, and he loved her.

"Thank you," he smiled.

Her father left her apartment, allowing Misaki to slam her door and curse at her father's back.

xxx

Hei entered the apartment he was sharing with Yin to see her staring out the window. Her foot was lying in a bucket of water, and her spectre was sitting in the sink looking at him.

"Had a good time with her again, Hei?" she asked.

"Hai," Hei blushed.

"You think it was all right to expose yourself?"

"I had to. I couldn't get her out of my mind."

"I'm glad, Hei."

Hei smiled at her and lay down to think about Misaki. How he loved to have her in his arms, and how intoxicating her lips were on his. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but his daughter's words echoed in his brain.

Misaki traveled over to Kanami's work to meet her during her daybreak. They settled down on a bench nearby with Misaki sitting a little bit away from her friend so she wouldn't get the smell of smoke on her clothes. The air was slightly cold, but it didn't faze them. Misaki told Kanami about her father's lecture.

"What are you going to do?" Kanami asked.

"Ignore his demand," replied Misaki. "I'm not sixteen anymore. I can take care of myself, and… I love Li."

"Misaki?" Kanami looked at her astounded, but then smiled. "That's good to hear."

"Arigatou, Kanami."

"Well, I have to get back to work."

Kanami stood and entered the lab. Misaki sat quietly on the bench while she thought of her situation. She didn't care if people thought it was wrong, Misaki loved Li and she wanted to be with him. To her it was no different than a Japanese man dating an American woman.

Misaki stood from the bench, entered her car, and drove out of the lab's parking lot.

Twenty minutes later she arrived home. She entered her apartment and sat down on her couch to relax some of her exhaustion. Misaki wondered when she would see Li again, and thought about what they would do besides make love. Maybe they should go to an amusement park or a water park when summer returns. There was also Disneyland.

Misaki remembered going there with her mother and father a few months before the meteor had hit. It had been one of the best days of her life. She wished she could go back to that time with Li so he could meet her mother, but that was another life.

"You've grown, child," said a woman to her right.

Misaki stood quickly while she grabbed her gun from her purse and aimed it at the intruder. Suddenly, her eyes widened in fright at the sight of a woman in a business suit with brown hair.

"O—Okasan?" muttered Misaki.

It couldn't be true.

Misaki stared at her mother unable to speak. Her father had told her when she was sixteen that her mother had gotten into a serious car accident, and that she had been killed. He had said her body was not presentable for viewing, and he had her cremated right away.

How could her mother still be alive?

"What's the matter, Mi-chan?" Her mother asked. "Aren't you going to hug me?"

Misaki began to cry and ran into her mother's embrace. The last thing she remembered about her mother was her cooking dinner and smiling gleefully at her.

"Otosan had told me you had died, Okasan," said Misaki.

"I'm not dead, Mi-chan," replied her mother. "Your father lied to you. I was just forced to leave Japan for your safety."

"For my safety?" questioned Misaki, as she pushed away from her mom. "But why would he…?"

A thought came to her. Misaki's last memory of her mom had been before the meteors had struck. When her father had said her mother was dead, it had been after the explosion.

"Oh my," began Misaki a little startled. "You're a… Contractor?"

"You do have your father's smarts, Mi-chan," replied her mother. "But I'm a little upset it took you all these years to figure that out."

Misaki stared at her mother for a second before replying with, "I wouldn't have thought that since I believed what otosan had said. But since you are here standing before me, I can only guess why otosan had lied."

"Mi-chan, your father lied to you and sent me away because I had tried to kill you when you were sixteen."

"Eh? Why would you have tried to kill me?"

Her mother stood in silence as she blinked at her. Misaki could tell her mother didn't want to answer.

"You had said you wanted your mother back," she caved in. "You could tell something was wrong with me, and you had demanded her back. Contractors may not act on their emotions, but they do get sick of someone bickering, so I stopped your heart."

Misaki's eyes widened from her mother's comment. She couldn't believe her own flesh and blood would do such a thing, but the person wasn't her mother, at least not then.

"Lucky for you your father was home," continued her mother. "He called 119 and had the medics run over to our house while he performed CPR. They were able to revive you.

"The police had asked me what had happened, and I had told them I wasn't sure. A few days later our home was broken into. You had almost been killed a second time, as well as your father if he had not agreed to join them."

"Join them?" questioned Misaki. "No way? Otosan, he works for the Syndicate?"

"Hai, Mi-chan. They had told your father that I was a Contractor, and they believed I was the one who stopped your heart."

"And that's when he told you to leave."

"I was actually placed in the Syndicate, and they had sent me to America. I've lived over in California since."

"Why don't I remember any of…? Otosan had the Syndicate erase my memory, didn't he?"

"Hai. He thought it best that you didn't remember the incident, and lied to you about me being killed."

Misaki couldn't believe what she was hearing. It seemed to her that her father was the Contractor and not her mom.

"Why have you come back?" asked Misaki.

Misaki's mother stared at her upset.

"To see you, Mi-chan," she replied. "I wanted to see how beautiful you've become, and I also wondered if I might be a grandmother."

Misaki stared into her mother's eyes to see if she was deceiving her, but if she was Misaki couldn't tell. She whole-heartedly wanted to believe her, but part of her was keeping herself on edge.

"Sorry, Okasan, but no I don't have any kids."

"Well, are you at least married, or have someone special in your life?"

"Eh, well?" Misaki blushed at the thought of being married, especially to Li, but she pushed that aside and answered with, "I'm not married, but I do have someone special in my life."

"Can I meet him?"

"Eh, well, things are… complicated with us," Misaki muttered while looking at the ground. "And well…?"

"Mi-chan, whenever Hei has the time, I will be happy to meet him again."

"Eh, you know?" asked Misaki startled. "Meet him again?"

"I work for the Syndicate, of course I know. I had met him once in New Mexico after Heaven's Gate went missing, but only for a brief moment though. I gotta admit, Misaki, he is cute." Misaki blushed. "I also heard about your father being with a younger woman."

"You mean… Megumi, right?"

"Hai, it seems you met her."

Misaki averted her eyes away from her mother, knowing too well Megumi was just more than a date for her father that night. It hurt her that her father had not only lied about Megumi, but her mother as well.

A knock came from her door. Misaki walked up to it and looked through the peephole to see two men dressed in police uniforms.

"Can I help you officers?" she asked.

"We got an anonymous call saying someone had broken into this apartment," said the officer to her left. "Please open the door and show us proof you live here, ma'am."

Misaki was going to do what was asked, but she then realized that there had been men watching her across the street, and figured they recognized her mother.

"Just a minute!" she replied, and turned to her mom. "Okasan, I think they're here for you."

"What?" she questioned. "How would they know I'm here?"

Misaki told her mother about her Peeping Toms.

"Really, I'll take care of them if you like?" her mother gestured.

"No, I'm all right, please just go."

"How am I going to escape? I snuck through your front door, Mi-chan."

Misaki stared at her mother, realizing she was thinking of her as Li, and figured she would jump out the window. Misaki thought of what to do quickly.

xxx

A/N: As promised, Misaki/Li fluff, and promise there will be more to come.

Japanese words:

Ai: Love

Umai: Delicious

Gomen: Sorry


	18. Chapter 18

Darker than Black

Chapter Eighteen: Old Wounds

The two men who were posing as police officers were the same guys that had chased after Lily a couple of weeks ago. They had been punished by the Syndicate for their foul ups, but they were also given a second chance. The imposters were instructed to bring in Jade anyway possible, even if it meant putting a bullet in Kirihara Misaki.

They were getting sick and tired of waiting for the former Section-Chief officer to open her door. Pokiyasu was about to bust through the door when Kirihara Misaki opened it.

"Good evening, Officers," she said, and handed over her proof.

He took it, pretending to comb through the paper work for a few seconds, and then handed her stuff back.

"We would like to enter your room and see if anybody is in there," said FD934.

"There is nobody but me, Officers," she stated. "And as a former police officer myself, I know you can't come in unless I allow you to, or you have a warrant."

"Or if we have probable cause, Kirihara Misaki-san," said Pokiyasu, as he pulled out a gun with a silencer on it. "Move aside or die."

Misaki frowned at them, but obeyed what was asked, and allowed them in. As they took two steps in, Misaki grabbed her purse and swung it at Pokiyasu's armed hand. The gun was knocked out, and then he was hit across the face, making him stumble backwards to fall on his back.

FD934 glared devilishly at Misaki, as his eyes started to burn red, and his body outlined in blue. Misaki looked on frightened while the Contractor raised his right hand to point his index finger at her. Suddenly, he grabbed at his heart while staring shocked. He dropped to his knees, pain showing in his eyes as he found it difficult to breathe, and then fell face forward dead.

Pokiyasu, feeling like he was in the anime Death Note, went for his gun and shot at Misaki, but the bullet stopped centimeters away from her. An hour glass-figured woman rounded the corner and glared at him. Her eyes burned red as her body outlined in blue, informing him she was the Contractor, Jade, which caused him to shrivel in fear.

"No, don't!" shouted Misaki.

Jade looked over at Misaki and said, "He was going to kill you, Mi-chan."

"And you stopped him. Now, let me handle this while you get out of here."

Jade stared at her confused, but she caved in, and dissolved the blue line around her. Misaki shoved Pokiyasu over to a wooden chair and sat him down to tie him up. Jade stepped in front of the fridge to pull out tones of food.

"What are you doing?" Misaki asked, as she glared over at her. "You need to run!"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I have to fulfill my obeisance," replied Jade.

"And you need to eat all that? I just bought the stuff today!"

"Hai," she said, as she started eating a carrot and throwing greasy food in the microwave.

"I wonder how you keep that figure."

"I exercise, Mi-chan."

Misaki shook her head, and stared at Pokiyasu and said, "Who are you?"

"Shouldn't you be worried who sent my partner and me here and why?" he stated with a smile.

"The Syndicate did because of her." Misaki pointed at Jade. "Now, who are you?" He frowned and glared up at her not saying a word. "Tell me, or I hand you over to her, and I'm sure she can stop your stomach from working to give you bad indigestion, stop your heart to where it feels like you're having a heart attack, or stop your lungs from working and have you suffocate."

Pokiyasu screeched in fright from the thought of what Kirihara Misaki had said. He looked over at Jade who was gazing through the microwave window to watch her food cook.

"All right," he caved in, and told her his and his partner's name.

"Why would the Syndicate send you two to deal with her?" Misaki asked.

"Because she went rogue."

Misaki turned to stare at Jade and said, "That true?"

"Hai," she replied.

The microwave chimed. Jade pulled out the food, set them on some plates, and began eating them while she sat at the kitchen table.

"Why?" Misaki asked.

"Because they wouldn't let me come back to Japan and see you, so I left," replied Jade.

"All right, now, what do we do with you?" Misaki rounded on Pokiyasu.

He gulped in fright.

xxx

Officer Kakuri Misuyu, with Saitou and Kouno, exited his car in front of Misaki's apartment complex. The Foreign Affairs had gotten a call from the Astronomy Laboratory that FD934 and LR013 had been active in the area. Moments later they had found out a call was issued for a gun shot on Misaki's level.

The officers entered the building, rode the elevator to Misaki's floor, and exited it to walk up and knock on her door. Moments later Misaki answered it. Saitou smiled at her as Kouno raised his hand in a gesture to say hello. Misaki smiled while bowing.

"Good evening, Kirihara," said Kakuri.

"Good evening. What can I do for you?" Misaki asked.

Kakuri straightened his posture and informed her of why they were present.

"You by any chance didn't see either of them, or heard the gun shot, did you?" he asked.

"No," said Misaki. "I don't recall LR013 ever appearing in Japan before?"

"She had snuck into Japan today. She goes by the name Jade. May we come in?"

"Hai," replied Misaki, ushering them in.

Misuyu scanned the room and noticed eaten meals lying scattered over her table. There was a blue coat laying a few feet away from her bedroom door and her sheets on her bed were mangled. Everything else was well organized.

"Had anybody over today?" Misuyu asked, as he continued looking around the apartment.

"I had a few guests over," replied Misaki.

"BK201 by any chance?"

"Are you going to arrest me if I say yes?"

He glared at her and said, "Are you aiding and embedding a criminal?"

Misaki stared at him; her eyes fixed on his.

"Misaki, we're just doing our job here," said Saitou. "Please don't make it harder on us."

"Yeah, Misaki, we don't like this any better than you," said Kouno.

She frowned at her old colleagues with her lips pursed, and then glared at Misuyu to say, "No."

Miyusu returned her stare, trying to get her to flinch, but her years of experience made her mentally strong concerning a trivial game. He instead clicked his tongue in frustration.

"You know I can arrest you for lying to me," said Miyusu.

"With what proof?" Misaki asked. "All you see is a coat, which might be from anyone; and a bunch of dishes on my table that I could have eaten since I have a big appetite.

"And plus, you're in the neighborhood investigating LR013 and FD934, not BK201."

Misuyu didn't move a centimeter as he kept his eyes on Misaki. The corner of his lips twitched into a smirk while admiring her smarts.

"She's right, sir," said Saitou.

Miyusu's eyes glanced over at him for a second, showing he wasn't pleased that Saitou had spoken, and then smiled at Misaki to show he was impressed.

"You were a good detective, Kirihara," he said. "Too bad you got mixed up with the wrong person, or should I say… thing? Good night, Kirihara Misaki."

Misuyu gestured for Saitou and Kouno to follow him. Her former partners bowed at her in which she returned, and exited her apartment while closing the door. As they descended the apartment, Misuyu smiled mostly to himself.

"I know BK201 was there," he said.

"Sir, like she had said, we…" began Saitou.

"I know what she had said, Detective!" shouted Miyusu over his shoulder. "But I stand by what I say. I want you two to watch her place starting tonight."

"What? No way!" stated Saitou. "She'd know it was us since she knows what my car looks like."

"You are a real idiot, aren't you? You'll be using a car I'm going to assign you two. She won't notice it!"

They exited the department to see an hourglass-figured woman standing across from them. Miyusu stared at her for a second and then said while pulling out his gun, "Don't move, LR013!"

"My, my, you think I will?" she flirted. "I just came by to tell you this boy here was the reason I was active." She threw a man dressed in an officer's uniform on the ground. "His partner's a few blocks away dead! I'm sure he's the other Contractor you're looking for!"

She started to run in which Miyusu fired at her. Her eyes burned red and stopped the bullet in mid-air surprising them.

xxx

Miyusu sat in front of the fake officer in a brightly lit interrogation room, tapping his fingers on the desk, as he let his prisoner sweat. The fake officer, resting his cuffed hands on the desk's edge, was holding his own, as he waited for the questions to begin. Having enough of the stand off, Miyusu leaned forward while placing his arms on the desk for support.

"Who do you work for?" he asked. The fake officer didn't speak. "Can I take a guess? The Syndicate perhaps?"

The fake officer kept his expression neutral.

"I know; you're an MI-6 puppet, am I right?" Miyusu said sarcastically. "Oh no, Pandora, or perhaps the CIA?"

"You're way over your head, Officer Kakuri Miyusu," said the fake officer.

"Oh, you know my name. So what is yours?"

The fake officer smiled while saying, "Go piss on yourself."

"That's a weird name, Go-piss-on-yourself-san."

The fake officer glared devilishly. He was trying to intimidate Miyusu, but he instead stared him down. He loved these games and usually won.

Suddenly, the door opened to reveal two men dressed in suits barging in. Miyusu stood frowning at them from interrupting his interrogation.

"You are not to speak with him anymore, Officer Kakuri," said one of the men.

"Excuse me?" Miyusu asked. "Who do you think you are anyways?"

"Who we are is none of your concern, and we are taking your prisoner."

The other man unclipped the cuffs and started to guide the fake officer out of the room. Miyusu furiously glared at the dressed man and stepped in front of his prisoner.

"I don't think so," he stated. "He knows something about LR013 and why she was there in that area! I want answers, and I want them…"

"Officer Kakuri Miyusu," shouted Yamato from the doorway. "Let them have him."

"Sir?" screamed Miyusu surprised.

"No arguments. I myself am in hot water from the hire-ups."

Miyusu looked at his boss surprised at what he had said. Yamato was not one to bend or break to anything, but something above his head had dropped a bomb to make him waver.

"A—All right, sir," replied Miyusu, and stepped aside to let his prisoner go.

The fake officer was escorted out while smiling, as Miyusu glared at him devilishly. Yamato exited the room in the opposite direction in which Miyusu decided to follow. Yamato looked angry concerning the hire-ups.

Miyusu knew how the hire-ups had done things. This placed him, his family and friends in a dire situation. He risked it to serve and protect not only humans, but Contractors and Dolls as well. Many believed it was a trivial thing to defend them due to their powers, which they were right. However, a few Contractors didn't have abilities to protect themselves, and Dolls weren't strong enough to defend against danger.

"What did they say to you, sir," asked Miyusu.

"Something horrible, Miyusu," replied Yamato. Miyusu tensed at his words. "Don't worry, your family wasn't threatened."

A heavy burden lifted off his shoulder to where he could relax, but an anguished feeling overwhelmed him concerning Yamato's family. The Syndicate was a formative opponent they were dealing with, and he wondered how they were going to take them down.

xxx

"So Jade was there?" questioned Akira after hearing Pokiyasu's story.

Pokiyasu sat in a murky secluded room before the Syndicate with Commander Kirihara present looking displeased. Pokiyasu didn't understand why the Commander was present since he was no more than a pawn from the western chess board game.

"Did she try to do anything to my daughter?" he asked.

"No," replied Pokiyasu. "She seemed fine to me, sir. Although, I found it weird that Jade had stopped from killing me when Kirihara Misaki had asked her not too. The Contractor also called her sweetheart, and she had said she wanted to see Kirihara Misaki again. She also kept on calling her Mi-chan."

"Is that so?" asked Mito.

"Hai."

"And why would she want to see Misaki again?" asked Ken to the fake officer. "Did she want to get arrested or something?"

"I don't know."

"I wouldn't worry about that, Pokiyasu," spoke up Akira. "Guards!" The two men who had escorted Pokiyasu out of the interrogation room entered. "Take Pokiyasu to a secluded area and finish him off."

"Hai!" they shouted together.

"NANI?" shouted Pokiyasu petrified. "Wait, I know I screwed up, but please give me another chance!"

"You're not being killed for that, but for being around Jade and Kirihara and hearing what they had said," stated Akira.

The men grabbed Pokiyasu by the arms and dragged him out while he fought against them and screamed.

"We need to deal with her," said Akira. "Jade is out of hand and she won't listen to us. We need to end her life, but how do we find her?"

"Leave that to me," replied Naoyasu.

xxx

Misaki looked out her window and saw a red car parked nearby. She couldn't see inside the vehicle, but she knew Saitou and Kouno were sitting in it. She figured Miyusu would set up a stakeout, which made her sigh at his stupidity. He seemed like an intelligent man, and it showed with him issuing another car, but he should have known she would have guessed it.

Suddenly her phone rang in her purse. She dug it out to see her father was calling. Misaki thought about not answering it since she was displeased with him, but she pushed aside her anger and flipped open the phone.

"What is it, Otosan?" she asked.

"_I was wondering if you could come by my place_," he said. "_I need to talk to you about something_."

Misaki's right eye narrowed at her father's calm voice. He had been so demanding of her earlier, but now he was acting kind. She figured her father was trying to play some sort of mind game with her.

"If it's about Li, I don't want to talk about that anymore," stated Misaki.

"_It's not that, Misaki_," assured her father.

"Then what is it? Just tell me!"

"_Misaki, please. Just come over to my place, all right_."

Misaki frowned while she thought about saying no, but she instead said, "I'll be right over there."

"_Thank you, sweetheart. I love you_."

She didn't reply as she closed her phone and grabbed her keys. Misaki descended into her garage, entered her car, and drove out onto the roads. She looked into her rearview mirror and frowned at her stalkers following.

Misaki thought about losing them, but she decided to let them tail her.

She arrived at her father's apartment twenty minutes later. Misaki exited her car and was astounded to see her father approaching.

"Otosan, I was on my way up to…" began Misaki, but she was cut off, as he wrapped his arm around her and pushed his gun into her side. "Otosan?"

The red car that was following her stopped to have Saitou and Kouno exit it and point their guns at her father.

"Let her go, Commander Kirihara!" ordered Saitou.

"You drop your guns now or watch my daughter die!" stated Naoyasu.

"You're bluffing, sir," said Kouno.

"You two idiots think I am? I helped bring her into this world, and I'll surely take her out of it!"

Saitou and Kouno looked at each other. They swore while lowering their guns and held up their hands.

"Let her go, sir," Kouno repeated.

"Not yet. There's still one more person hanging around here. Come on out, Maya. I know you're here!" shouted her father. "If you really don't want her dead, then step out right now. If you try to kill me, I'll pull the trigger and kill our daughter!"

Saitou and Kouno looked on flabbergasted.

Misaki couldn't believe what her father was saying. Almost six months ago he had begged her to get out of the Foreign Affairs, but now he was threatening to kill her.

"And who's suppose to be the Contractor, Naoyasu?" asked her mother, as she walked around a corner.

Saitou and Kouno's eyes widened as they muttered, "LR013? Jade's Misaki's mom?"

"I thought you were spying on me, Maya," replied her father. "That's how you found Misaki, right?"

"Hai," she nodded.

"Now you want to see Megumi. You followed Misaki so you could find out where I live, and then you were planning on killing her too, am I right?"

"It had crossed my mind, but I decided not to."

"Don't lie to me, Maya!"

"Just because I'm a Contractor doesn't mean I lie all the time. We were human beings once before. It's not our fault what happened almost eleven years ago, but most humans do hold us countable.

"If you forgot, Naoyasu, it was the Syndicate, the Russian agency, the CIA, and MI-6 that used us for our powers. Therefore, humans like them are just as evil as Contractors. Like the old saying goes, 'the pen is mightier than the sword.'"

"At least I have a hard time sleeping at night, not like you Contractors."

"I'll agree on that, but some of us Contractors are evolving: like me. There have been a few nights where I couldn't sleep from what I had done to Mi-chan."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"Not you, Naoyasu, but I was hoping Mi-chan… no, Misaki… would."

Misaki could see the truth flowing from her mother's eyes and the smile she radiated. She knew her mother wasn't lying.

"You're not buying into her lie, are you, Misaki?" asked her father, his voice sounding as if he was hoping she would side with him.

"Hai, I do, Otosan," stated Misaki.

"Mi—Misaki?"

Naoyasu let go of her so her mother could run over to embrace Misaki. They held each other for a while until Misaki saw a red dot on her mother's back. She freaked out as she tried to pull her mother out of the line of fire, but she was too slow and her mother was shot in the back. The bullet pierced through her chest, missing Misaki by centimeters.

Misaki's mother became heavy in her arms in which she had to kneel to cradle her. Saitou and Kouno grabbed their guns and pointed them to where the shot had come from. Saitou gestured for Kouno to check out the area, which he agreed, and ran off into a building. Saitou walked over to Naoyasu, cuffed him to a pole, and walked over to his car to call for an ambulance.

Misaki glared at her father, knowing he had led her mother into a trap. Her eyes burned with fury as her tears drenched her eyes.

"How could you?" she asked.

"She's a Contractor, Misaki," stated her father. "I had no other choice. She would have killed you!"

"She wouldn't have, Otosan!"

"Mi—Misaki, don't be… mad at… your father…" pleaded her mother. "He… he is… he is trying… to… to protect you…"

"Okasan, don't speak. An Ambulance is on its way!"

"Mi—Misaki… don't… don't worry a… about me." Her mother smiled up at her, as she caressed Misaki's cheek with her right hand. "I… I… love… you…"

Her mom's hand fell to her side as her eyes went blank. A star above fell from the sky.

"Okasan?" Misaki cried. "Okasan? OKASAN?"

Misaki broke down in tears and drew her mother to her. Frigid rain started to pour down, as if the heavens were crying with her. She didn't want to let go of her, fearing that her mother was truly gone, in which she didn't want to feel that pain she had experienced what seemed like a century ago.

"Misaki," spoke up her father.

"You didn't have to," stated Misaki, as she glared at him.

"Yes, I did. I was ordered by the…"

"Screw the Syndicate, Otosan! Screw them!"

"Misaki, you don't know how dangerous they are if you disobey them. You have no idea what they would do."

"Like kidnap me to get Li to come and rescue me so they could kill him, and then kill me? Or how about killing someone I love, like a family member, or maybe a friend?

"Screw the Syndicate! I will see them brought to justice since they are the criminals and not the Contractors!"

"Misaki, as your father, I forbid you from doing anything like that."

"As I'm concerned, my father died the day my mother had died ten years ago."

Misaki turned away from her father and laid her mother on the drenched ground. She placed her right hand over her mother's eyelids and closed them. Misaki broke down in tears, unable to feel them from the pouring rain, and lay her head on her mother's stomach.

Kouno exited the building and shook his head concerning the shooter. Kouno and Saitou stared at Misaki, letting her deal with her pain alone.

Sirens could be heard in the distance, but Misaki paid no attention to them.

Misaki sat in the back of an Ambulance, as the medics placed her mother's lifeless body in another. Saitou and Kouno informed Miyusu the situation concerning her father who was sitting in the back of a police car.

Moments later Yamato walked up to stand in front of her. She looked up at him, but then averted her eyes to stare at nothing.

"What had happened, Misaki?" he asked, finally showing concern in his voice to her.

"Why don't you ask Kouno and Saitou since Miyusu had them follow me," said Misaki. Yamato didn't respond to her comment and waited for her answer. "My father set up my mom."

"So what Saitou had told me was true. LR013, Jade, was your mother."

"Her name was Maya, Kirihara Yatsu Maya."

"Sorry, Misaki."

"Is my father being arrested?"

"Hai, but I'm sure he won't be held for long and never brought up on any charges. You must hate him for what he had done."

"I don't hate him for what he had done. I hate him for not telling me the truth."

Yamato took in her feature and then breathed in deeply, as if he had come out of a smoke infested house.

"Do you need someone to drive you home?" he asked, looking back at her.

"No, I'll be fine."

Misaki stood from the ambulance and walked over to her car. Before she reached it, Saitou and Kouno ran over to her.

"Misaki, you all right?" asked Saitou.

"Hai," replied Misaki, not looking at him.

"We're sorry we couldn't stop what had happened," said Kouno.

"Arigatou. Sorry, but I would like to be alone."

Her former colleagues nodded and stepped aside so that Misaki could enter her car and head home.

Mercilessly she made it to her apartment without wrecking. She sluggishly departed her car, and before she knew it Misaki was staring at her front door. She couldn't remember if she used the elevator or walked up five flights of stairs.

Misaki abandoned the thought and entered her apartment to see Li standing in front of the balcony smiling. She tried to return it, but her agony was too heavy to extinguish. His smile vanished as he gazed at her troubled from her depressed look.

"Misaki?" he asked.

She stared at him for a second, as her bottom lip trembled, and then walked into his arms to dowse his shirt in her tears. She knew she was confusing him and could feel he wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he instead held her close and let her cry her heart out in his arms.

The last time Misaki had cried this much was when her mother had first died. She only had her father to lose herself in misery, but now she had Li, and she was glad he was the one comforting her. It didn't take away her burden, but it helped sooth it.

Misaki didn't know how long she cried, but she was pleased that Li held her close. She didn't even realize she had fallen asleep in his arms on the couch.


	19. Chapter 19

Darker than Black

Chapter Nineteen: Reunion

The Syndicate sat in the conference room two months after Naoyasu's ex-wife had been killed. Tension filled up the room as Ken squirmed in his seat while he waited for Akira to speak about the hurried up work on the Saturn System.

"Mito and I had looked over the latest update concerning the Saturn System's sabotage," Akira finally spoke. "It should be completed in two months from now."

"That's too long," barked Ken, as he stood and slammed his fist onto the table. "We need more workers to finish it now!"

"We may need more, but we can't go too fast and mess up the System," pointed out Brian.

"That's what inspectors are for, baka!" Ken rounded on Brian.

"Whom are you calling an idiot?" yelled Brian, as he stood with fire in his eyes.

"Would you two stop your bickering!" shouted Mito. Ken and Brian looked towards him. "Ken, there is no need to get your panties in a twist since things are going according to plan."

"That's not true, Mito," said someone from the door. "You and Akira know it too."

Mito's eyes widened in shock, and then he and his comrades looked towards the door. An old man stood inside it with a man behind him wearing circular glasses. To Mito's surprised the old man looked like an older version of himself.

"Who the hell are you two and how did you two get past security?" Ken asked in a high-pitched voice.

The older man threw a badge on the table that had Mito's face and name, causing the Syndicate to look at it flabbergasted.

"You stole Mito's badge? How?" Ken asked, as he glared at the old man.

The old man rolled his eyes and glared at him devilishly while saying, "I am Takeda Mito!"

"Impossible!" shouted Ken while pointing at the younger Mito sitting to his right. "How in Buddha's belly can you be Takeda Mito when he's over there?"

"I guess you never heard of time travel before," the older Mito stated with a smile.

"That's not possible?"

"I forgot how ignorant you were."

"What? How about I get security in here and have you killed?"

"That's enough, Ken," said the younger Mito. "If he is my future self, why don't we let him tell us how far back he's come, why he's in this time, and who's his friend with the Harry Potter glasses and greasy hair?"

Ken stared at the younger Mito surprised and disbelieving that he would accept the old man's words. He snorted and returned to his seat with his arms crossed while looking away.

"Arigatou," said the older Mito while bowing. "First off, the person I have with me is a Contractor whom wishes to regain his powers."

"Contractor from the future?" Akira questioned. "They still exist?"

"Sort of," said the greasy-haired man. "I'm really a Regressor. You guys were able to wipe out our power until BK201 came to our time."

"Eh?" the Syndicate questioned.

"Shut your mouth!" demanded the older Mito, and then looked back at the Syndicate. "The reason why we have traveled twenty-six years back in time is to help you kill BK201 and Kirihara Misaki."

"Kill Kirihara and BK201?" Akira questioned. "Are they giving you a hard time?"

"No, they're dead," said the Regressor, as he pushed back his glasses with his index finger. "BK201's death should be drawing near, and Misaki dies sixteen years from now."

"Really? So why kill them now when they are already dead?" Ken asked, finally looking at the older Mito and the Regressor.

"We came back in time to kill them so we can wipe out any existence of their daughter, said the future Mito. "She has taken over their desires to annihilate the Syndicate in our time."

The Syndicate stared at the older Mito lost for words. After a few seconds of silence Brian said, "It can't be true? BK201 and Kirihara Misaki have a daughter?"

"Hai," replied the future Mito.

"You're lying!" shouted Ken. "You don't have…"

"Misaki and BK201 have been seen together by your spies, right? So isn't it possible they could have a kid together?"

The Syndicate sat quietly as they tried to think of something.

"Do you have any proof?" asked the younger Mito.

The older Mito smiled, as he pulled out a small devise, clicked something on it, and threw it onto the desk.

"BOMB!" shouted Ken, as he hid under the table.

He kneeled there for a few seconds while holding his arms over his ears, as he waited for the explosion, but nothing happened. Ken slowly peeked over the table to see a hologram of Misaki guiding a girl into a blue Porsche in front of a school. Her face was done up to look like BK201's mask.

"That, my friends, is their daughter, Kirihara Riku," said the future Mito.

xxx

Misaki carried home some McDoness she had purchased a few minutes ago late at night. Her mind swirled around her mother's funeral. Her father had coughed up the money to rebury her, but he had let Misaki do the preparations.

Her father had not been present to the viewing, or the funeral itself, which pleased Misaki since she believed she might have slapped him. To her surprise one night, before the funeral home had closed, Li had appeared.

After she had awakened in his arms the day after her mother's death, she had told Li what had happened. He had said that he was sorry for her loss, and asked if there was anything he could do for her.

"Just you being with me is all I need from you, Li," she had said to him.

Misaki entered her apartment and sat on her couch. She grabbed her remote off her desk to turn on the news and began eating her greasy food.

"_In other news, Dr. Schrader, former Commander Hourai, and a few Contractors had escape from prison earlier today_," said the newscaster.

"Nani?" she spat out her food to say.

"_The Foreign Affairs stated a huge hole had been blasted through the concrete, allowing the prisoners to escape. Officer Miyusu had stated they believe another Contractor was involved."_

Misaki gulped from the comment, believing Miyusu was right, and she guessed the Syndicate had something to with it. She waited for them to say who the Contractors were, but the reporter didn't have that information. Misaki began to fear which ones had been released since there had been quite a few over the months.

Suddenly, Misaki felt sick to her stomach and ran into her bathroom to abstract her meal the wrong way.

xxx

Hei and Yin exited a ramen store with customers and employees staring at him due to his eating habit. They headed to their new residence as they wrapped their arms around their bodies to shield them from the brittle air and snowflakes. Yin wore a heavy purple coat and Hei had on his new blue coat.

They reached the second block when suddenly a car exploded, giving them a warm sensation they didn't wish to have, and sending him and Yin flying sideways. Hei had ringing in his ears and his sights were hazy, but he focused on locating Yin to see she was a few yards away from him crouched with her hands over her head. She didn't look to have any bruises or cuts, which pleased him.

A dark skinned man caught the corner of Hei's eyes, and recognized the same Contractor who had tried to kill him a few months ago, along with the DBZ cosplayers.

"Yin, stay back," pleaded Hei.

Yin nodded as she pressed her body against a wall.

Hei stood and ran at them; causing the exploding man to blow up shrapnel near by, and making Hei stumble a little from the concussion. The blue-haired woman distorted space, forcing Hei to close his eyes—even though they weren't helping him to begin with—and jumped out of the way from a blue energy ball. Hei picked up a piece of sharp metal and threw it at the woman, but it was destroyed a few meters before her.

Hei cursed, wondering if he could win this fight without his cable and knives. He rolled out of the way as blonde threw his blue ball at him, and then realized he was standing next to a blue glowing door that had been blown off the car. Hei hesitated, unable to think of what to do since he had no escape plan, and feared he was going to be blown to bits.

A roar from an engine came drifting around the corner with its headlights shining on them. Its driver slammed on the brakes to screech the car sideways to a halt and showed it was a blue BMW. A woman held a gun inside the car, aiming it through the passenger side window, and fired to put a bullet between the exploding man's eyes.

Hei squinted his eyes to see who was inside the car, and thought it was Misaki driving it, until he noticed her short black hair. She wore a black leather coat with a strap button collar, a white button-up shirt under it, and blue jeans. He shook his head to try to clear his vision, thinking maybe the explosion had forced his eyes to play tricks on him, but as he gazed back he was sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Otosan, Yin, get in!" she shouted.

"Ri—Riku?" stuttered Hei flabbergasted.

"What are you waiting for? Get in!"

Hei grabbed Yin to guide her to the car and entered it with Yin climbing into the back. Riku popped the clutch, as Hei closed the door to peel from the scene. Hei looked back to see if they were being followed, but there was no sign of a pursuit.

"What's going on, Riku? What are you doing in this time?" screamed Hei displeased, as he looked over at her.

"That's a first," smiled Riku. "I got scolded by my dad!"

Hei opened his mouth to say something, but frowned instead. He then gathered himself to say, "I'm not playing around, Riku. Why are you here?"

"Because I followed Mito back to this time."

"Mito? How did he travel back in time?"

"The time machine the Americans had left behind at New Sano. Apparently the Mito of my time got the brilliant idea to get his hands on it and come back in time to kill you and okasan."

"How? They didn't have the juice last time until I used my power."

"They ended up using the whole city's energy."

"I take it a city wide blackout occurred."

"Hai, and that's not half the problem. He brought a Regressor with him."

"A Regressor? Why?"

"The only thing I'm sure of is so he can regain his powers back."

"Why not get it back in your time?"

"After you went back in time, Heavens Gate disappeared again and the Hell's Gate meteor died out. All the Contractors who had gotten their powers…"

"Lost it?" Hei asked startled. Riku nodded. "Do you know who the Regressor is?"

Riku stayed quiet for a few seconds before answering, "My former Commander, Kawakawa Okina. The idea was to have them help get a few Contractors out of prison, along with Hourai and Schrader, and then have one of the Contractors find and kill you before going after okasan. They figured if they got rid of you first, it would be easier to kill okasan next."

"Why would they do that? I mean; we're already dead in your time?"

Riku gulped as she tried keeping her eyes away from his, showing she didn't want to answer that question.

"Riku, what did you do?" Hei asked.

"Like… like okasan," she began with, "I decided to try and bring down the Syndicate."

"You did what? Riku, why didn't you just leave things be?"

"How could I since they were the ones who stole my life! Because of them, I have no parents!"

"You still have Yin, Kiko, Kanami-san, Saitou-san and all their friends!" Riku felt sheepish from Hei's outburst. "Well, what is done is done. What happened?"

"Eh, well," continued Riku, "I was getting close to bringing them down. I broke in where they were doing their experiment, and as I presented myself, they turned on the machine. I was caught in the middle of it and brought back to this time. I lost Mito and Okina in the crowded streets and feared they were going to get to you first. I was able to get my hands on a police scanner to hear that the Foreign Affairs were ordered to come to this area."

"Now that you saved me, the Syndicate will probably go after Misaki. We're going to have to rescue her."

"Ah," muttered Riku, looking a little under the collar.

"You all right?"

"Hai. eh, no. I—I… the last time I saw okasan was… was when I had told her I hated her."

"What?"

Hei stared at her baffled from her comment. Riku looked at him and then realized she hadn't told him about her past. She gave him a quick version of the story.

"That was the last time I saw her," Riku finished with. "I couldn't even look at her lying in a coffin before they cremated her."

"Sor—sorry to hear that. Are you going to be all right?"

"I—I don't know. Oh, I almost forgot, you'll need this." Riku pointed at the cable line he had left for her. "I had to use that in order to sneak into the area Mito was hiding."

"Arigatou, Riku," said Hei, taking the cable. "But there's one thing I want to know; where'd you get the car?"

Riku shrugged while smiling and said, "I stole it. When I was a teenager, I made a habit of picking locks and stuff. I even took mom's Porsche for a little joy ride and got busted by the cops."

"How were you able to become a cop?"

"Ojiisan."

"Should have known," replied Hei, as he rolled his eyes and nodded his head.

"Hei," spoke up Yin, causing him to look back at her. "So she is your daughter you spoke of."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Yin. Hai, this is Riku."

"Nice to meet you."

"Ditto here, Yin," smiled Riku in the rearview mirror.

Gokou was about to throw one of his blue balls at the departing car, but it had gotten out of his range. Bulma pulled out a cell phone and called a number.

"_Is he dead?" _asked the future Mito's voice_._

"No, he got away," replied Bulma.

"_How?_"

"A girl with short black hair and brown eyes just saved BK201."

"_A girl with short black hair? No, it can't be? Misaki's and BK201's kid's here?"_

"I believe she is. She had shouted out otosan."

"_Nani? How did she get back to this time? Son of a… Get back to the hideout. I'm sending the Goony squad after Misaki_."

"All right."

xxx

Misaki exited her bathroom after checking a pregnancy test that had tested positive and sat down on her couch. Fear started swarming in her stomach. How would the world feel if they found out a human and a Contractor were going to have a child together? Would they demand for her to have an abortion, which she wouldn't have, or would they accept the baby? Would the baby become a Contractor, or would he or she be a normal kid?

Misaki lifted her shirt, placed her hand on her stomach, and smiled down at it. Years ago she thought to herself the idea of becoming a mother were far-fetched since she was only concerned about her career, but now the tables had turned on her.

She pushed the thoughts aside, picked up her remote, and turned on the news.

"_We just got a report that a blue Mercedes Benz had been stolen from a dealer lot not too long ago_," said a reporter standing in front of a BMW sign. "_The police have no idea how the person got in since no alarms went off_."

Misaki frowned at the news, believing some carjackers were pulling a job to try to make quick cash. Life wasn't easy, Misaki knew that, and things came with a price.

Without warning her door burst open. Misaki jumped from her couch and looked at the destroyed entrance to see two men she knew as Chunk and Sloth.

"Hasn't been that long since we seen each other, Officer Kirihara," lied Chunk.

Sloth charged at her and swung his hammer-like hands. Misaki rolled under it towards a desk, pulled out a revolver, and shot at him. Unfortunately, Sloth created a shield, which the bullet ricocheted off and struck Chunk in the head.

"Chunk!" screamed Sloth. "You killed Chunk!"

He transfigured his hands into swords, and started swinging at Misaki, as a star fell outside. The tip of the blade hit the gun and knocked it out of her hands. She placed her back to the wall, and moved her head out of the way as Sloth stabbed through it.

"You goin' t' die!" promised Sloth.

He was going to pull out his hand, but it seemed to be stuck. The next thing he knew he was electrocuted. His eyes rolled up into his sockets, and then he fell unconscious backwards.

"Li?"

The balcony door opened to show Li.

"Misaki, it's not safe here," he informed. "We need to get out of here."

"All right, just let me get my purse," said Misaki.

"There's no time, the police are on their way!"

Hei wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her onto the balcony. She held onto him tightly, as he climbed over the railing, and lowered them to the ground. He guided her over to a blue BMW car where a young woman with short black hair waited. She kept her eyes gazing downwards, as if she was afraid to look at her and Li.

Jealousy overwhelmed Misaki concerning this woman, and wondered why she was with Li. Li opened the door and gestured her into the back with Yin. He then sat in the passenger's seat, closed the door, and then gestured to the black-haired woman to take off. She nodded, as she put the car in first, and popped the clutch to squeal the tires.

Misaki braced herself from the sudden take-off, gathered her balance, and clipped on her safety belt. She was going to start asking questions, as they drifted onto the main road, but she held her tongue as police cars shot by and turned around.

"They're coming after us!" shouted Li, as he glanced over Misaki's shoulder.

"I can see that, oto—eh, Hei-san," said the black-haired woman.

The black-haired woman swerved through traffic and drifted around corners like a pro, but their chasers were still on them. Misaki could see the irritation the woman was presenting in the rearview mirror. She took a hold of the emergency brake and pulled up on it, spinning the car one hundred-eighty degrees, and drove at the police cars to make them split away and crash into parked cars.

Misaki stared back at the mangled cars amazed, and looked forward to see the black-haired woman smiling pleased at her performance. She drifted into an alleyway, but screeched to a stop from a car blocking their way.

Misaki noticed Saitou pointing his gun at them, as he shouted, "Turn the engine off and step out of the car!"

"Saitou-san?" said the girl surprisingly, baffling Misaki at how she knew him. She threw the car in reverse, and glanced over her shoulder to look through the back window. "Kou—Kouno-san!" She looked over at Li. "What now, Hei-san? I'm not running them over."

Misaki stared at the black-haired woman perplexed, wondering how she knew Kouno as well.

"I'll handle this," said Li, as he reached for the door.

Misaki shook away her shock and quickly said, "No, let me, Li."

"O—oi… no way," the black-haired woman stuttered while avoiding Misaki's eyes. "They… they probably think we… kidnapped you."

"And that's why I need to talk with them."

"No way!"

"Let her," said Li, looking at the black-haired woman.

The black-haired woman opened her mouth to protest, but stopped and nodded while saying, "A—all right."

Li leaned forward to let Misaki out, as she yelled while climbing from the vehicle, "Saitou, Kouno, don't shoot!"

"Misaki, you all right?" Saitou asked.

"Hai, I'm fine. You two need to let us go."

"We can't do that, Misaki," reminded Kouno from behind her. "If we do we could get into trouble with Yamato."

"And if you take us in we might get killed," stated Misaki, as she glanced between them. "The Contractors who escaped were sent to kill Li and me by the Syndicate. You two will put us in danger if you arrest Li and the woman."

"Then how about BK201 surrender and we let you and the lovely ojosan go."

"Li is the only one who can protect her and me, please!"

"You know we can't do that as police officers, Misaki-san," reminded Saitou.

"I'm not asking as a cop, but as a friend."

Saitou and Kouno looked at each other to contemplate on her words. After about a minute they nodded to each other and lowered their guns.

"Thank you," Misaki smiled at them, and then entered the car.

The woman placed the car in first and drove slowly passed them. Once she was cleared, she pressed down on the gas and took off around the corner.

"Now, what's going on?" Misaki asked.

"As you had said, Oka… eh, Kirihara-san," said the woman.

"And who are you?" Misaki yelled, showing her jealousy in her voice.

"Eh, eh…?"

"One of my partners back in South America," replied Li.

The woman glanced over at Li surprised while trying to keep her eyes on the road.

"Really?" Misaki disbelievingly questioned. "And what's her name?"

"Eh?" pondered Li.

"Nina," the woman quickly replied, making Li look at her peculiarly.

"And is that a convenient name like Hei?" Misaki asked, losing her patience now.

"Hai!"

"Tsk! Everyone has to have a code name! A few more questions, Nina."

"Na—nani?" Nina muttered.

"How do you know Saitou and Kouno, why did you refer to them as san, and why would you care about running them over?"

"Eh, well you see, because I know you know them, and well, I didn't want you upset at me. I had made a promise to… to… o… oka…san… after she had died that I would undo the wrongs, and do the right things."

Misaki was dumbstruck at why Nina had stuttered on saying okasan. It seemed to her that she had done some wrong things to her mother, and she had never gotten the chance to correct them before her death.

She pushed the thought to the back of her brain and indicated, "And is stealing a car the right thing to do?"

"Ehehe," blabbered Nina sheepishly.

"Anyways, we need to ditch this car and find a safe place to hide."

"I already know where we can hide," said Li.

xxx

Riku, along with Yin and her parents, stood in front of an old woman named Misuzu Oyama, who was staring at her father as if she had seen a ghost.

"It's been a while, Misuzu-san," smiled her father. She said nothing while looking at him lost for words. "Eh, I was wondering if you might have a room open for us to rent."

Misuzu continued her speechless stare, which seemed like she was going to have a heart attack.

"Oi, obasan!" shouted Riku.

She snapped out of it while stuttering to say, "Na—nani? Li-san, when did you return to Japan?" She narrowed her eyes at him. "Or was Gai right that you had never left?"

"Eh?" muttered her father while scratching the back of his head embarrassed. Riku was having a hard time understanding how someone like her father could seem so carefree, and yet be known as the ruthless Black Reaper. "Just returned. Do you have an open room?"

"Hai, your old one. I kept it vacant just incase you returned." Misuzu walked back into her office, snatched up the keys, and gave it to Riku's father. "I see your detective friend found you. It's good to see the girl from the smoke shop again, but who is the black-haired girl?"

"Nina," replied Riku.

"Nice to meet you." Misuzu looked over at Hei frowning. "Not planning on having a foursome with these women, are you, Li-san."

"NO!" shouted Riku and her mother at the same time, which made them look at each other baffled.

Misuzu narrowed her eyes at them from the sudden comment.

"Well, it doesn't concern me what you four do behind closed doors," she muttered. "As long as you guys keep the noise down. Good to see you again, Li. Make sure you say hello to your old neighbors. Oh, and I'm having problems with my television again, maybe you can help me with that later."

"Hai," replied Riku's father.

He guided the three women up the stairs and walked down to the far end. The room number surprised Riku slightly. They entered the room in which Riku walked over to the window to stare at the view with Hell's Gate in sight. Her father turned on the faucet to fill up the sink and poured some water into a pan. He then placed it by Yin's feet.

"So this is where you had lived before the incident with Hell's Gate," said Riku.

"Hai," replied her father.

"Cozy."

"Arigatou, Nina."

Riku smiled back at him. Suddenly it diminished as her stomach growled a little too loud, making her mother's right eyelid rise peculiarly.

"S—sorry, I haven't eating all day," she smiled. "Isn't there a ramen store around here?"

"Hai," replied Li.

"Wait, I don't think we should just go out and venture," stated Riku's mom. "They will be looking for you both, and I'm sure they're going to use Dolls."

"It's all right," spoke up Yin. "I asked the Dolls from the lab to stay away."

Riku's mom frowned and said, "What? Why would they listen to you?"

"I told them what is going on."

"And they decided to stop looking for us?"

Yin nodded.

Her mother thought on the subject with her arms crossed and then nodded they could leave the apartment. They exited the room and let Riku's dad lead them to Home Run House. Riku could feel her mother's indignant eyes on her back, making her feel a little squeamish. It had been wonderful to see her mother again, but the feeling had not been so great due to her mother's jealousy towards her, which Riku thought was disturbing.

They entered Home Run House moments later. Riku was flabbergasted that the décor hadn't change much from her time, making her feel like she hadn't gone back in time, until she saw a young Rika and no Rina.

"Welcome to…" began Rika. "LI-KUN! It's been forever! Otosan, Li's back!"

"Really?" shouted Rika's father from the back.

Riku snapped her neck around to see him cooking. She smiled at the sight, as she remembered watching him work his magic when she was eight. Unfortunately, he had passed away from cancer when she was ten.

"Li! Where have you been?" he asked. "It's nice to see you again, and you have friends this time."

"Hai," replied Li, as they sat down.

"Five to start off with?" Rika asked.

"Hai, Rika."

"And you all?"

"One for me, please," said Yin.

"Three," said Riku and her mom together.

"Nani?" blinked Rika. "Are you two sisters?"

"Wha—what would make you think that?" muttered Riku.

"Well, for one thing, you both ordered three bowls at the same time, and your eyes look the same."

Riku's mom turned to gaze at her eyes, which made Riku sweat while waving it off, and laughing, "Far from it."

Her dad was looking a little twitchy as well, probably wondering what Riku's mom was thinking. Rika shrugged it off and walked into the back.

"So, how do you two know each other from the Syndicate?" her mom asked.

"Eh, well," began Riku surprised from the question. "Eh…?"

"From the Syndicate assigning us to missions," said her dad.

"Really?" her mom said skeptic while narrowing her eyes.

"How did you and Hei-san meet?" Riku asked, causing her father to narrow his eyes at her.

"Eh," Riku's mother muttered off guard. "How—how can I put this? Well, we actually met at his apartment due to a case I was investigating, and then it was at a party."

She told the story about her and her father meeting at the party, their time in the bathroom, the day her mother caught her father holding a bra—making them blush—and the date they had had before Hell's Gate.

"And what convinced you that Hei-san is the Black Reaper?" Riku asked.

"The back part of his body with his hair, but it was mostly his eyes. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew it had to be true."

"Why?"

"Nina, that's enough," spoke up Riku's father.

Riku looked at him displeased.

"It's all right, Li," replied her mother. "The way he made me feel, and the way he acted. I couldn't believe he was BK201: a Contractor. I was falling for a Contractor."

"It shouldn't matter if he's a Contractor or not. He isn't abnormal. He is a living being, and that makes him as much human as you and me."

Riku's mother flinched from her comment. Riku cursed herself for being a big mouth, remembering the comment Yamato had said to her about her mother quoting the same words. Riku had argued with her mother about Contractors and humans living together and said it wasn't possible, indicating the situation her mother and father had went through. She hadn't thought like her mother until after she had died.

"EEHHH! UUSSOOOO!" shouted a girl behind them, causing Li to spew out his noodles all over Riku. "YOU'RE STILL WITH OBASAN!"

Riku's mother slumped in her chair, muttering, "O—obasan?"

Riku grabbed a few napkins to dab at her soaked clothes looking upset, and then back at the girl who had made the interuption. Riku's eyes widened at the site of a young Kiko, as she slid over to Yin.

"Hey, Yin, I know you had said that you're not dating Li-san, but who's the other obasan sitting across from Li-san?"

"OBASAN?" screamed Riku, as she stood from her seat. "I'll have you know I'm twenty-five years old, and that doesn't qualify me as old!" Riku was also burning mad since the Kiko she had grown up with as friends was now forty. "And besides, I'm sitting near the person you call Li-san admiring him having a meal with Misaki-san!"

Her mother looked at Riku baffled, causing her to curse at herself for being so ignorant again.

"Oh, I see, you're a stalker!" pointed out Kiko.

"Nani? How?"

"You're stalking obasan and Li-san as they date, waiting to strike, and take Li-san for yourself."

Riku showed her fangs as she grinded her teeth together and her face burned hell red with steam coming out of her ears. Suddenly, she started to giggle, and then burst out into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kiko asked, slanting her eyes.

"You!" Riku chuckled, and continued to laugh. "I—I haven't laughed like this in a long time. Arigatou. How about you join us?"

"EEHHH!" shouted her parents and Kiko together.

"Nina, are you serious?" asked her father.

"Hai," Riku nodded at him.

She looked back at Kiko and gestured for her to sit. Kiko took a seat next to Yin looking a little weary. Riku began talking about the Rose of Maurice with Kiko and fell into a deep conversation, laughing at certain things, as they ate their bowls of ramen.

Riku's father smiled in delight at her, Kiko and Yin had a splendid time together, while her mother watched them with a keen eye.

Even with her mother's vigilant stare on her, the day she was experiencing had been the best day she had ever had. She had wished many nights to spend a day with her parents, and it had finally come true.

After an hour later, and six stacks of bowls carried off by a disbelieving Rika, they departed the ramen store.

Misaki lay on her back on a futon as she thought on Nina's words about Contractors being humans. She had said the same thing to the Foreign Affair's Higher-ups a few months ago, and this woman, who she didn't know, was repeating the same thing. How was that possible?

She rolled onto her side to see Yin staring out the window and Li lying nearby. Nina had stepped outside a few minutes ago to get some fresh air. She was a strange woman to understand, especially concerning about Kouno and Saitou. Misaki believed there was more to what she had said. To Misaki it felt like Nina knew them, but it wasn't possible since Misaki had known them for quite some time.

Li had said she had worked with him in South America, but that too had felt like a lie. Who was Nina really, and why did she have the same shape and color eyes as hers? Could it be her father had had an affair before she was born, or had her mother had given birth to twins? No, her mother would have told her, unless her father forbid her to say anything, but she couldn't think of why. In addition, if her father had had an affair, Nina's eyes wouldn't be the same since she had gotten hers from her parents.

Misaki pushed the thought away and looked at the man whom she had made love with in her bed. She wondered if she should tell Li she was pregnant, believing it would be the right thing to do, or wait until the ruckus they were in was over.

Suddenly, Li turned over and looked at her. Misaki blushed while smiling at him, which caused him to return it, and squirmed over to kiss her.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Hai," she tiredly replied. "Li, there's something I need to discuss with you. It concerns us both."

He looked at her puzzled.

Misaki stared into his eyes, wondering how to tell him she had his child growing inside her? It shouldn't be so difficult for her to say the words, but for some reason it was. To her the situation felt like the world would turn on a different axel for them, and it would be for the worst.

"Misaki?" Li asked.

"Eh, it's nothing special," she said anyway, as she looked away.

He took a hold of her chin, averting her eyes to his, and looked deep into them. She knew he could tell it wasn't a trivial thing she was letting go. Li must have believed there was something important she wanted to tell him, but she couldn't.

Li wrapped his free arm around her and drew her close to him. He held her in his arms, making her feel safe, in which it allowed her to fall asleep.

xxx

Riku sat on the corner rail outside looking up at the sky. She had felt nostalgic after her mother had died, but now she felt alive being around her parents, and enjoyed the little time she was having with them.

A door opened behind her. She looked over her shoulder and saw her father exiting his old apartment. He smiled at her, which she returned, as he walked up to her.

"It's late, why don't you come inside and get some sleep," said her father.

"I will," replied Riku, as her father leaned on the rail to her right.

"Was it necessary to ask Misaki about how we met since I know you heard it before?"

"Hai," she smiled. "Okasan used to tell me it a lot before bed as far back as I can remember." Her smile diminished while looking downward. "Demo, when I turned ten and was teased about being you, I didn't want to hear it anymore. I could tell it killed okasan when I had said it, but I didn't care. I was so selfish back then."

"Riku, you shouldn't beat yourself down like that. Misaki wouldn't want you to do that because of her."

"How would you know, Otosan?" shot back Riku while glaring at him, causing her father to flinch from her outburst. She frowned and stared at the ground again. "Sorry, I never seem to do the right things."

"Maybe so, Riku-chan, but like your father, you seem to always correct them."

Riku looked back at her father from his comment to see he was smiling at her. She returned it.

"Shall we go inside and get some rest?" her father asked.

"Hai, Otosan," nodded Riku.


	20. Chapter 20

Darker than Black

Chapter Twenty: To Beat One at his Own Game

Riku slept calmly on her futon until she felt someone trying to walk by her quietly. She opened her right eye to see her mother entering the bathroom to regurgitate her food. Her body tensed, realizing she was having morning sickness. The feeling Riku was experiencing was indescribable, and wondered if she should say anything about it?

No, she didn't want to disturb anything in this time that would prevent her mom saying her last words to her father. However, it could alter the future and maybe prevent him from being killed. She shook off the thought since she was already changing history due to her traveling through time.

Riku slightly closed her eye, as her mom reentered the living room to lay on her futon. She stared at her mother's belly, astounded that she was growing inside, and she had to be no bigger than the palm of her hand.

Riku smiled, as she fell into a deep sleep.

The next thing she heard was a humming sound. She tried to ignore it, but the sound was too annoying, making her sit up straight in her futon half-awake and grouchy with her hair mangled.

"What the hell is that noise?" growled Riku.

She heard it again, realizing it was coming from below her. Riku stormed out of the room barefoot to run down the stairs and bang on the door where the noise was coming from. A chubby man opened the door, causing obnoxious noise to blare into her face. She noticed a blond and skinny man wearing goggles jamming away on a guitar.

"Would you please not do that so early in the morning?" Riku shouted over the noise.

"What?" the chubby man asked.

Instead of trying to get the deaf toned man to hear her over the noise, she instead pointed at the guitar man.

"Oh!" shouted the chubby man, and then looked at his friend to cut the music. His friend stared at him puzzled, and then saw Riku in which he stopped. The chubby man looked back at her. "Sorry about that. I didn't think we could be heard across the street."

"I wouldn't know about that, but I can hear you loud and clear in room 201," pointed out Riku.

"Room 201?" the guitar man asked. "You're living in that room? I thought the old lady was leaving that open just incase Li returned."

"She did. I'm just living with him."

"HEH?" cried out the two friends. Riku realized she had said the wrong thing. "Li's got a girlfriend?"

"It's not like that." Riku waved her hands at them. "He's got someone else."

"HEH?"

The two friends bolted out of their room, knocking Riku down and trampling over her in the process. She stood to her feet cursing, and followed the two bubbleheads up the stairs. Her father was standing outside his opened door with his neighbors' staring at him flabbergasted.

"You're back!" shouted the guitar man.

"It's been a while!" shouted the chubby man.

"This calls for a party!"

"What's with all…? Li-kun!" shouted a red-haired girl.

She charged up the stairs, faster than Speed Racer, and joined in on the celebration.

As Riku watched the neighbors show their affection towards her father, she withdrew her annoyance and smiled at them.

xxx

Gai lay on his couch with his feet sticking over the edge while blowing smoke into the air. Boredom overwhelmed him from lack of customers for the past few days. He wished a little girl or boy would hire him for a yen to fine a puppy. Even the chubby kid who had asked him to help with his project about the old stars would come by and give him something to do.

The front door opened to reveal a gas-masked person, breathing heavily like Darth Vader, with pink ponytails sticking out of the sides. The person wheeled in a huge fan, sat it by the door, and clicked it on. The smoke started swirling around as Gai's hair whipped from the sudden breeze.

The gas-masked person walked over to the window and opened it to blow out the smoke. Suddenly, Gai's hat was blown off the rack and out the window as well. After the smoke was cleared, the masked person removed the mask.

"You know, that was my favorite hat, Kiko," said Gai frowning.

"You mean your only hat, Boss," replied Kiko with a smirk.

Gai could tell she was in a good mood, which irritated him.

"What's up with you?" he asked, knowing he was going to regret it.

She smiled while looking up at the ceiling with stars sparkling in her eyes.

"I saw Li-san," she lovingly expressed. "He had on some new clothes, but he still exposed his collarbone."

"Really?" questioned Gai. "Where? In your dreams?"

"The Home Run House."

"No way?" Gai shouted, as he sat up straight. "What was he doing there? Saying he never left?"

"Having dinner."

"And I take it you stalked him the whole time."

"No," replied Kiko, and told the story about last night.

"NANI? LI-KUN IS DATING THREE WOMEN AT THE SAME TIME? I don't think his fiancé is going to like that."

Kiko looked at him frowning and said, "Don't tell me you still think she's Li-san's fiancée?"

"But of course. What else would she be?"

"A stalker!"

Gai blinked at her and then started laughing.

"Why is everyone with you a stalker?" he chuckled.

Kiko's face burned with fury. She pointed the fan at him and clicked it on a few more settings. The wind kicked up to where it felt like a Tornado had stormed in, and then Gai noticed he was being swept into the twister. He started to scratch and claw at his couch for support, but the only thing he could claw his nails in was his cushion. It flung off the couch in which Gai flew out the window to soar by in front of an oncoming train, and then slammed into a telephone pole with his arms and legs stretched outward.

He craned his head sideways and said, "Koala!"

Kouno and Saitou stood in front of Yamato in his office with Misuyu standing to the side. Yamato looked displeased with them and Kouno knew why. He waited for his boss to speak, making him feel uncomfortable. He had bet Saitou that they were going to be fired, making Ootsuka and Kunio have to work with their new boss alone.

"Just like Kirihara, BK201 slipped through your fingers!" Yamato began, making Kouno and Saitou tense. "Along with that woman who had stolen that BMW we had found not too long ago thanks to Misuyu! How is that?"

"Well, you see, that woman was crazy," fibbed Kouno. "She came blazing at us like a maniac and almost killed us."

"And why didn't you shoot at her? You thought she was cute or something?"

"Well, now that you mention it, hai."

"BAKA! I'm not paying you two morons to be nice to someone when they're hot looking! Another foul up and you both are gone!"

"Hai," replied Saitou and Kouno together.

They turned on their heels and exited the office.

As soon as they got out of hearing range, Saitou looked over at Kouno and said smiling, "You owe me twenty thousand yen."

Kouno frowned and coughed up the money. He wished he could be at the bar with that young woman buying her a drink with his lost cash.

Xxx

Miyusu stared at the door where Saitou and Kouno had exited, and then he looked over at Yamato who still looked irritated at the two. He looked over at Miyusu with his eyes narrowed.

"You think I should have fired them?" he asked.

"In my opinion, hai," replied Miyusu. "Why didn't you?"

"I don't know?"

"May I speak freely, sir?"

"Hai."

"If you keep relying on those two men, we might not be able to arrest BK201 and that unknown woman if Misaki hangs around them. They have a friendship that I don't think you can break through."

"I agree, but I need as much help as I can get that isn't corrupted by the Syndicate, and those two aren't because of their loyalty to Misaki."

xxx

The Tokyo Tower's observing tower was crawling with tourist, school kids, annoying lovey-dovey couples, and groups of families. A little girl shook her head at her mom, refusing to look out the window, as a boy leaned against the railing to stare out the glass flabbergasted at the city lying under the cloudless afternoon sun.

Bulma walked up to a window section and looked through it. She was irritated that BK201 hadn't been affected by her ability, and she wanted to know why?

Moments later her contact, wearing a red baseball cap, black coat and blue pants, walked up beside her and stared out the window as well.

"You and Gokou find him or it's your guy's heads, understood?" he informed.

"And how are we suppose to do that?" she asked. "There are at least over one-hundred thousand dolls out there. We could be looking for days; months, or even years."

"Then get creative. Find some way to bring them to you."

"Like how?"

"You're smart, you'll think of something. ML921 will be helping you in the matter as well."

"We don't need his help."

"You will accept it or face the Syndicate's wrath. You have until the end of the week."

"That's only three days away!" stated Bulma, as she slightly glanced at him while trying to keep her voice neutral.

"You better get to it then."

Her contact walked off to another part of the tower, leaving Bulma to stare out the window lost in her thoughts. How was she supposed to find BK201, his doll, Misaki and that woman who had killed JY407?

Then it came to her. She couldn't think of anything that would get BK201's attention, but there was a way to get Kirihara Misaki.

xxx

Riku pleasantly watched her father and his neighbors joke and laugh about many things in his room. Her mother was also pleased that he had befriended them during his stay several months ago.

"How is it that you're back in town?" the red head girl asked.

"I was able to get immigrations to let me come back and finish my schooling here," lied Hei.

"Yay! I'm glad they did!" replied the rocker dude, as he blared out a tune from his guitar. "It's been kind of dull without you."

"Oh, yeah!" shouted the red head girl. "This came for you a few months ago."

She handed a letter over to Riku's father. He took it to examine it, which caused his eyes to light up.

"Sakurai?" he muttered, and then continued reading. "Oh, he's doing great!"

"Who?" Riku and her mother asked together.

"Eh," Riku's father muttered while scratching his head embarrassed. "His girlfriend was the one I was buying clothes for."

Riku and her mother blushed.

"Re—really," Riku embarrassedly said, also scratching the back of her head. "So he moved?" She played dumb.

"No, he just hung out for a while, and then he had to split."

"Oh."

"Can I ask a question about you two?" the plumped man asked to Riku and her mom. "Are you two related in any way? Like sisters?"

"No, no," said Riku while waving her hands frantically. "I've known He—Li…kun for quite some time. He looked me up not too long ago to introduce me to his girlfriend."

Riku's mother twitched slightly and then her cheeks turned cherry red.

"I can't believe Li's got a girlfriend," said the red head girl. "He always seemed to be a loner until Sakurai came around."

Everyone in the room chuckled, except Yin who instead pushed her right lip up into a smile.

xxx

Kanami departed her work for the night. She pulled out a cigarette to smoke and headed for the nearest train station that was heading for Tokyo. She was worried about Misaki, but she knew she was safe with Li.

"How things can change dramatically in such a short time," she whispered to herself.

Kanami took puffs from her cigarette, as she thought about what might happen in the months to come. She hoped nothing, but since Stargazer-sama had spoken again something was bound to happen.

Suddenly, the ground became distorted, causing Kanami to fall on what felt like the ground, and having her cigarette slip out of her mouth. Next she saw a tall man with messy red hair sock her across the face to knock her out.

xxx

Hei's neighbors left his apartment for the night. Riku helped her father wash the dishes, which she seemed to enjoy, while Misaki and Yin cleaned up the mess.

"Had a good time?" Riku asked Hei.

"Hai, and yourself?" he replied.

"One of the best times I ever had." Riku smiled.

After they finished tidying up the room, Hei laid a bowl of water in front of Yin, and sat down to cuddle with Misaki. Riku smiled at them and departed the room to let them be alone. They melted into each other's arms and kissed.

He imagined a future with Misaki on the countryside in a suburban house. Hei pictured them and a two-year-old Riku catching a bus to head home from a family picnic. A cat would be waiting for them at the door, wagging his tail back and forth greeting hello.

Thoughts of taking trips to Okinawa, China and America crossed his mind. However, these were dreams that would never come true for them.

Yin's sudden movement caught his attention. Hei pushed away from Misaki as his eyes gazed upon her. Misaki stared at him baffled and then looked over at Yin.

"What is it, Yin?" Hei asked.

"Sorry, Misaki, I have bad news," spoke up Yin. Misaki blinked at her curiously. Riku stepped into the room from the commotion. "Your friend, Kanami, she was kidnapped."

"What?" questioned Misaki.

"Kanami-san? It's not true?" Riku asked startled.

Misaki twitched from Riku knowing about her, but her concerns wavered on her friend and asked, "How do you know Kanami was kidnapped?"

"I've been watching the Astronomy Division to see if any of their Dolls were picking up any activity, and they had noticed a Contractor was using her power near the lab. I went to go scan the area and I saw her being knocked out."

"Do you know where they are taking her?"

"Hai, I'm following them right now," said Yin.

"You're following them?" questioned Hei. "Haven't they spotted you yet?"

"No. I've been watching them from other vehicles."

"Where are they heading now?"

"They're driving back into the city."

"Let's go and intercept them!" said Riku, as she stood with her fist clenched.

"Hold on. We just can't go and attack. We need a plan," said Misaki.

"We can discuss that later. We need to go now!"

"And if we go in guns blazing we might get killed!"

"We don't have time for that! Right, Hei-san," said Riku while looking at him.

Hei stared baffled at the two women he held close to his heart. Riku had placed him in the middle of an argument in which he had to choose a side, but how could he? They were both right. They needed a plan, but Kanami needed their help now. How could he settle things?

"Yin, where are they now?" Hei asked.

"They are still on the freeway just outside the city," replied Yin.

"All right, let us know where they stop. While we wait, we can discuss things."

Riku glared at him hurt that he had sided with Misaki, and then looked away while nodding her agreement. It hurt him to do such a thing since she spent most of her life hating him, but the way Misaki had mentioned was the best solution.

"Do you know who the Contractors are?" Riku asked Yin, as she looked at her.

"Hai. The blue-haired woman, and the blond-haired man you had saved us from," replied Yin.

"You mean those cosplayers?" Hei asked startled.

"BL002, and GK001," said Riku with her eyes narrowed, as she crossed her arms. "I heard about them. They had a partner that made them even more of a pain to deal with."

"They aren't alone," continued Yin. "ML921 is with them."

"Eh?" questioned Hei and Misaki.

"Three Contractors to deal with?" barked Riku, and then frowned. "Tsk, thinking about that makes me want to puke!"

**Darker than Black**

ML921 forced Kanami into the Contractor's hideout and shoved her onto the grime-covered floor. She lay on her side, looking up at her captives in fright, as ML921 placed a black hole around her ankle to prevent her from escaping.

BL002 waltzed in and flopped onto the couch. GK001 walked over to a mildew-covered refrigerator, opened the door to scrounge through its unlit counters, and pulled out tons of food. He set his meal on a dusty table and began filling up his stomach.

Bulma looked over at him while frowning.

"Hey, Gokou! Some of that food is mine too!" stated Bulma.

"Not anymore, Bulma," said Gokou.

"Then cough up some of the money!"

"You two are impossible," said ML921. "How are you two going to inform BK201 and his girlfriend that we have this woman?"

"That's easy. We wait until he hears about the kidnapping on the news."

"What?" ML921 narrowed his eyes at them.

"Once word gets around that she's missing, he'll have his doll look for her, and then they come right to us."

"Baka! Do you even have a plan when they do get here?"

"No, should we have?"

Suddenly, the power went out. Bulma and Gokou began looking around the room, as ML921 frowned and pulled Kanami to her feet. The door burst opened to reveal Hei, Misaki, the Doll and a woman with black hair. ML921 figured the black-haired woman was the Black Reaper's brat.

"That's far enough!" he shouted, as he put a knife under Kanami's neck.

"Let her go!" demanded Misaki. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"We will if you, BK201 and that woman who helped save you are willing to come with us quietly."

"Not until you let Kanami go first!"

"That's not going to happen," said someone behind them. BK201 and Misaki turned around to see a man in a red baseball cap pointing a gun at Riku's back. ML921 smiled with glee to see his contact had snuck up on them. Humans were good for something after all. "Either you three surrender, or this poor girl gets a bullet in her back."

BK201 looked on concerned for her, but she didn't seem to be fazed by his threat, which made ML921 a little petrified.

"Really stupid to be up so close to me, mister," she said.

"Why is that?"

Without warning Riku spun around quickly, snatched his arm, and pointed the gun away from her as it went off. She broke his nose, kneed him in the crouch, and fired a few shots at ML921, missing him as he released and pushed Kanami away. The room became distorted, but it didn't faze Riku, as she let off another round at Bulma.

"Nina!" shouted BK201 at her. "Misaki and I will save Kanami. You and Yin get out of here and maybe we can split them up!"

Riku nodded and ran off with Yin. Bulma gestured Gokou to follow them in which he obliged. In the middle of the ruckus, Misaki grabbed Kanami by her arm, and guided her out of the hideout behind BK201. ML921 and Bulma cursed and ran after their preys.

They stormed across the street, cars honking their horns at them and drivers giving improper hand gestures, and headed into a park near Tokyo Tower. Trees obstructed most of the sky's view, which formed dirt patches amongst the grassy terrain. A hillside with a walk trail ran along a rocky brook.

Furious that the kidnapping had gone sour, Bulma stopped in her tracks, used her ability to distort the park, and caused Misaki and Kanami to stumble and fall. BK201 stopped to check on them, but he instead was forced to dodge Tsu's roundhouse kick.

"Don't think you three are getting away so easily," he stated.

Riku and Yin ran up the hill towards Tokyo Tower. They came along a fence line with the tower's entrance to the right. A blue ball whizzed by and exploded in front of them, causing Riku to grab and stop Yin from running into it.

Riku pointed the stolen gun at the cosplayer and fired. He jumped out of the way and threw another blue ball. Riku pulled Yin into the Tokyo Tower's banked parking lot to avoid it. Tourist buses and other vehicles were parked along the slope with the tower at the bottom of the hill.

The cosplayer skidded before the entrance and released a third blue ball. It struck the ground near Riku's feet and exploded, shaking the ground, and having rubble rain down on them. Tourist in the area screamed out in fright and ran off in different directions.

Riku cringed, knowing she had put innocent people in danger. Her mother would have scolded her for doing such a reckless thing. She fired another shot only to miss.

"What's going on here?" a security guard asked.

Gokou threw another blue ball at the guard in which he stared at it horrified, and let it exploded against his chest. He was flung back a few meters and landed on his back. His shirt had a torn circular hole, and his chest was scorched all the way to the muscles. The security guard stared up at the fake stars, but his brain wasn't taking in the image.

"Everybody, stay back!" shouted Riku over her shoulder.

Riku fired another shot and ran away from Gokou, as he dodged the bullet and sent another ball at her. She pulled Yin out of the way to have it miss them by centimeters and making it erupt against an empty tour bus. The bus's center windows shattered, as the paint burned away, and the metal dented inwards. Riku shot at Gokou as he sent his infamous blue ball, causing the two items to strike each other and explode.

Sirens whaled into the scene, as police cars shrieked to a stop in the parking lot. Policemen filed out of the cars, and hid behind their doors, as they aimed their guns at the Contractor.

"Don't move!" said one of them.

Gokou frowned and threw his blue ball at them, destroying their cars and injuring a few of them. A brown car stormed in and skidded to a halt. Saitou and Kouno stepped from it to survey the scene. Riku's eyes widened, as her body shook in fright for their safety.

"No! GET AWAY!" she shouted.

Unfortunately, it was too late. Gokou sent another blue ball at them, causing Kouno and Saitou to jump out of the way, as it impaled the car. The two friends rolled to a kneeling position and fired. Gokou moved out of the way and threw his ball at them again. It struck nearby, missing them by centimeters.

Riku aimed her gun and fired at Gokou's back in which he sent another ball to intercept it. Gokou smiled devilishly at her, but turned his attention at more police officers arriving on the scene.

Riku guided Yin around a bus to catch her breath.

"This is insane!" shouted Riku between puffs. "He's too quick. How can we take him down?"

"Beat him at his own game," replied Yin.

"At his own game?" Riku blinked at her baffled. "You mean fight him as a Contractor? Yin, I maybe the daughter of the Black Reaper, but I'm no Contractor."

"AAHH!" shouted a girl, as she rounded the bus. "What is this? I come here to have a nice night and I run into this?"

Riku glanced at her, and then looked on astounded to see Yin's friend.

"Kiko?" she said surprised.

Kiko looked at her, pointed at Riku shocked, and said, "EEHH! Obasan!"

Riku clenched her fist and punched the back of her head.

"What was that for?" yelled Kiko with a bump on her head.

"For calling me obasan again! I don't want to worry about wrinkles when I have to think of how to beat Gokou-wanna-be!"

"But," spoke up Yin, interrupting Riku and Kiko's argument, "Mao kept on saying, 'in order to beat someone, you have to beat them at their own game.'"

"Mao?" blinked Kiko dumbfounded. "Who's Mao?"

Riku pondered on what she had said, and then thought of an idea.

"Kiko, have you watched the whole DBZ anime?" she asked.

"Hai," Kiko nodded.

"I have as well," said Yin.

"Eh? How, Yin? You can't see."

"I listened to it and imagined it," replied Yin.

Riku guessed Yin had watched them on the Library's computer and used her Spectre to see it. She remembered a memory of Yin watching animes for the first time after she had regained her sight. Kiko had come over to watch it with them.

"Is that so?" Kiko said, as she crossed her arm and nodded.

"Why do you ask, Nina?" Yin asked.

Riku smiled devilishly and whispered something into their ear.

"Are you serious?" Kiko asked, looking like she had seen a ghost.

"Hai!" replied Riku.

Yin pushed her lip up with her finger.

Gokou finished off the last of the annoying cops and looked around for his prey. People were crying in fear, as they shook from the thought of dying. A few people looked astounded, thinking it was some cosplayer thing, and began snapping off shots of the whole event. He didn't care about them and continued looking for the Black Reaper's so-called daughter and the doll.

Suddenly, they appeared from behind a bus, making Gokou smile with delight, but frowned at something awkward about their body language.

"Sound off!" shouted the girl named Riku. She stuck out her arms side-ways, and started slowly rotating them counter-clock wise. "Leader of the Ginyu Force, I am Ginyu Taichou!" Riku finished the pose with her arms and face pointing up sideways."

"Along with Jhisu," muttered the doll, as she twirled her silver hair in front of her, and then kneeled next to Riku with her hands pointing the opposite direction.

A flat-chested girl with pink pony tails came running out looking embarrassed and slid on her right knee in front of them, posing like she was flexing her muscles and said, "Ri—Rikuumu!"

"Together, we are… the Ginyu Force!" they shouted.

Silence overwhelmed the scene, as Gokou and everybody else stared at them stunned from their ridiculous performance. The spectators fell backwards to shake the ground while the fan boys uncontrollably clipped off pictures. A crow flew overhead and chirped, "Ahou, ahou."

Suddenly, Riku quickly moved her right arm to her back, grabbed something, and pointed the gun she was hiding to fire a bullet in Gokou's forehead. He stared up at it and felt stupid for falling for such an ignorant distraction.

Riku stood still for a moment and then smiled with glee.

"I'm surprised that worked," she muttered

"What? Surprised?" a startled Kiko asked. "Why are you so surprised?"

"Well to tell you the truth," began Riku, as she scratched the back of her head. Her face was crimson red now. "I didn't think someone would fall for something so stupid."

Riku began to laugh.

Kiko frowned, as sweat dripped down the side of her head.

"FREEZE!" shouted Saitou.

Riku flinched while looking at him and Kouno and noticed them pointing their guns at her.

"Put the weapon down and raise your hands in the air!"

Kiko did what was asked, as Riku straightened her composure and glared at them. What was she going to do? They were her mother's friends, and the last thing she wanted was to hurt them: especially Saitou since he was like an uncle to her. Not only that, her mother would be furious with her.

"You're the lady who kidnapped Misaki," said Kouno. "Where is she?"

"Fighting for her life with Hei and Kanami-san," replied Riku.

"Kanami?" questioned Saitou. "You kidnapped her too?"

"No, I didn't. Hei, Misaki-san and I are trying to rescue her."

"What did you say?" they both asked.

"What a load of crap!" said Kouno. "Now put your hands up!"

Riku was out of time. It was now or never to make her move, but an idea hadn't surfaced yet. Kiko, quivering in fear, caught her attention, and thought of an idea that made her smile on the inside.

"Sorry, Kiko."

"You best be sorry for putting me in this mess, obasan!" said Kiko, as she rounded on her. "Now I'm probably going to lose my license as a detective!"

"Not that!" screamed Riku angrily.

"Well then for what?"

"This."

Riku pushed Kiko towards Saitou and Kouno, causing her to scream out in fright and plow into them. Riku grabbed Yin's arm and ran down the slope to mix in with the crowd to lose Saitou and Kouno.

xxx

Hei tried to take out Bulma while keeping his eyes closed, but he had his hands full avoiding Tsu's attacks. He swung his blade at him, but missed as ML921 jumped back and laughed.

"Give it up, BK201," he snickered. "You can't beat me and protect Misaki and that lab woman in this mess."

Hei knew ML921 was right, but he had to try.

Hei threw his cable at Tsu, but he heard it being swallowed by a black hole. He then had to duck under a swirling kick. Hei whipped out his blade backhanded, poured his ability into it, and took a shot at his opponent. Tsu's body was slightly electrocuted, but he acted as if it didn't affect him. Tsu bound Hei's leg and punched Hei across the face, but as he did he received an electrical shock that released his black hole.

Hei turned three hundred and sixty degrees to backhand Tsu, followed by a high kick that was grabbed. He then kicked with his free leg to strike Tsu across the face. Hei fell on his back and then roll jumped off it to a standing position.

Suddenly, Hei heard a gun shot. He opened his eyes to see Bulma falling forward as blood splattered out from her back. He looked up to see Riku had returned and shot Bulma from behind. She aimed her gun at ML921 and fired, but he swallowed the bullet.

"You're ML921?" she said frightfully.

"That's right," said ML921, smiling at her. "And I have heard so much about you from Mito. I see you like to shoot people in the back like she does!"

Misaki's right eyelid twitched from ML921's comment concerning about their first encounter. Without another word ML921 departed.

"Kanami, you all right?" Misaki asked, as she looked back at her friend.

Kanami was kneeling in a grassy patch away from the fight. She stood and dusted off the dirt on her knees and said, "I'm fine, thank you all for coming to rescue me."

Misaki glared at Riku and shouted, "Oi! That was reckless! You could have hit Li."

"It's all right, I'm pretty good at aiming, even when I have to have my eyes closed," replied Riku.

Kanami looked over at Riku. Her eyes widened in shock as she took in her features.

"Na—nani?" stuttered Riku while her body tensed at Kanami's expression.

"Who…? How come…?" Kanami looked over at Misaki puzzled. "Who is she, Misaki?"

"Her name is Nina, or that's what she claims her name is."

"Eh? Claims to be? Are you two related?"

Misaki looked at her friend dumbfounded. Everybody had asked the same question, which was getting on Misaki's nerves. She wanted to know herself why they had the same type of eye color and feature.

"Far from it, as far as I know," replied Misaki.

"Eh, can we talk about this later," said Riku. "We have to get out of here. The cops aren't too far behind. I got Kiko to buy us some time to escape."

"Kiko?" questioned Hei.

"I'll explain later."

Hei looked at her perplexed, but nodded it off. He began to lead them out with Riku bringing up the rear, but they came to a halt, as Saitou and Kouno entered the park. Saitou pointed his gun at them while Kouno held a depressed and hand cuffed Kiko. Her tears were streaming down her cheeks like waterfalls.

"Freeze!" shouted Saitou. "Li-kun, you and that woman let Misaki and Kanami go and surrender!"

"Help me," whined Kiko.

"Oi, let her go!" demanded Riku. "She has nothing to do with this! I only used her to help me beat that Contractor and distract you guys!"

"You did?" Saitou and Kouno asked.

With that distraction Hei ran at Saitou, causing him to shoot in which Hei used his coat to block the shot, and chopped the back of his neck to knock him out. Kouno went for his gun, but Riku grabbed a thick and rotten branch lying on the ground, and slammed it across the back of his head.

Riku dropped the broken branch, brush off her hands, and looked over at Kiko.

"You all right?" she asked, as she grabbed Kouno's keys and unlocked the cuffs.

"All right? Am I all right!" blabbered Kiko. "No! You obasans are around Li-san, and I see another obasan." Kiko pointed at Kanami.

Kanami looked at her puzzled, but then she narrowed her eyes at Kiko saying, "Obasan? Me? Why you!"

Misaki grabbed her friend from doing anything rational. Kiko glanced over at Li, as her cheeks blushed. Suddenly, her expression changed after noticing Li in his black trench coat.

"Oro? Li-san?" muttered Kiko. "Why are you dressed like the masked man from Ootsuka's story?"

"Because he is the masked man, Kiko," said Yin.

"EEHH?" Kiko looked over at Yin. "Uso! Lier!"

"It's not." Yin approached her friend. "There's something I need to tell you. Li is the one who saved you in the alleyway the other day."

"Wait one minute? Are you telling me Li-san is a… Contractor?"

"Hai," nodded Yin. "And I am a Doll."

"UUSSOO! LIER!"

"Sorry," Yin apologized, as she bowed for deceiving her friend.

There was silence as Kiko continued to look at her best friend disbelieving. It had to have been hard for her to accept the truth, and now she was trying to comprehend it all.

Kiko smiled, surprising everyone, and ran up to Hei all starry-eyed while wagging her bottom like a dog.

"It's true, dreams do come true!" she said. "Be mine! Beminemineminemine!"

Hei looked at her startled.

Riku came up behind Kiko looking angry, and then knocked her across the back of the head with her right fist. Kiko fell forward with her bottom sticking up, and then stood quickly to glare at Riku eye-to-eye.

"Oi, that's the second time you did that, and I'm sick of it!" shouted Kiko.

"Then stop acting like a moron!" pointed out Riku.

"Moron? That's fighting words!"

Yin walked up behind Kiko and placed her hand on her shoulder. Kiko looked back to see Yin shaking her head in a gesture not to continue the argument. Kiko nodded, and smiled at Yin.

"Hey, Yin, since you're a Doll, you can help me find bad guys and bring them to justice. Imagine the money we'd make and throw Gai out of business!"

Everybody stared disbelieving at Kiko's sudden joy, except for Hei who was smiling. After the commotion they departed the park and left the two cops lying unconscious.


	21. Chapter 21

Darker than Black

I'd like to thank Ominae for leaving comments. I wanted to thank you, but since I can't respond through the replies, I wanted to say thank you this way. Thank you.

Chapter twenty-one: Sensei

_The night sky was covered by a sparkling glitter that reflected off a lake, as trees around the shoreline waved from a warm breeze. A young black-haired boy stood a little off the shoreline stargazing through a telescope. He turned it slightly, readjusting the focus to look at the Big Dipper, as his dark brown-haired sister trotted and splashed through the water excitedly while laughing. A few fish came up to her feet and nibbled on them._

_"It tickles, brother," she said in Cantonese._

_The boy looked up from his telescope and smiled at her, believing she couldn't get upset at anything in life._

_"Dinners ready!" shouted their mom._

_"Ah!" the girl muttered, and then looked over at her brother. "Let's race, Brother."_

_"Alright," he replied._

_The girl hopped her way to the shoreline and stood next to her brother. He held up three fingers, and slowly counted them down._

_Three… two… one…_

_They sprinted off into the woods, zigzagging around trees, and then exited it moments later to trot up a slight grassy hill. A one-story house engulfed in trees lay in the distance. It had stained white sidings, a wooden door, two square windows to its left with a wider one to the right, and rusted metal roofing._

_The siblings were neck and neck, but the boy was holding back for his sister, as they drew closer to the house._

_They burst through the front door to enter into a secluded living room while laughing enthusiastically. An old couch sat against an island table with a rugged coffee table in front of it. Their mother, standing in a dark and cluttered kitchen separated by the island table, was cooking rice and noodles for dinner. She was a beautiful average-sized Chinese woman with long black hair and blue eyes._

_She looked over at them smiling._

_Their father, a plump man with short black hair, sat at a small oval table in the dining room next to the kitchen. He was scrounging through the daily newspaper._

_"I win, Brother!" cheered the girl._

_"No, we tied!" pointed out the boy._

_"Mommy, who entered first?"_

_"You both did, sweetheart," said her mom._

_"Ah, I thought I beat brother this time."_

_Their mother giggled and said, "Maybe tomorrow, Xing. Li, can you set the table while your sister helps me?"_

_"All right, Mom," said the boy named Li._

_They began their chores and sat down to eat. The sibling's father folded up his paper, set it next to his plate, and began eating._

_"Did you two have a good time at the beach today?" he asked between bites._

_Their father had gotten a Saturday off after working it six months straight. He decided to seize the opportunity and took his family to the beach. It had been a pleasant day for Li. He and his sister had never seen the sea before, and he was astounded at how salty it had tasted._

"_Yeah!" the siblings cheered._

"_Can we go again next weekend?" Li asked._

"_I'm sorry, son, but I don't know when I'll get another whole weekend off."_

"_Ah!"_

"_Did you two see anything down at the lake?" their mom asked._

"_Yeah, a bunch of fish," said Xing, and then told her mom what they did._

"_How sweet," their mom smiled._

_xxx_

_Li woke to a loud bang sound that seemed to echo from a distant land, as the ground slightly shook. He looked outside and saw no indication of what might have happened. He started to think it might have been his imagination, and it had something to do with the dream he had had._

_Suddenly, his mom entered the room looking concerned and asked, "Are you all right?"_

"_Yes," he nodded. "What happened, Mom?"_

"_I'm not sure."_

"_Honey, is Li all right?" Li's father asked, as he stepped before the door._

"_He's fine. What about Xing?"_

"_She seemed a little startled, but she's fine."_

_Li's mom nodded and gestured for Li to get some sleep. She left his room with his father while closing the door behind them. Li yawned from exhaustion while laying his head on his feather pillow to fall back asleep._

_The months had gone by sluggishly for Li. His sister wasn't acting her cheerful self, and he had asked his mom what was wrong with her._

"_She's probably not feeling good," his mom had replied._

_Things were weird around the world. It seemed that Tokyo and South America had been struck by something, killing billions of people, and nobody seemed to know what it was. The sky had also been replaced with what people were calling, "fake stars." Li didn't care about any of that and tried to cheer up his sister._

_The months continued to pass with no changes to his sister's gloomy attitude. Li wasn't sure to call it that since it seemed to him she wasn't showing any emotions. His parents didn't worry about it and believed she was going through some faze at her age. He had asked if he had acted like that, which they had said no._

_Li had also noticed that occasionally the fake stars would shine brightly for a bit and then sit calmly, as if nothing had happened. He had found it astounding to see a couple of them fall down to the earth. There were also rumors of people with abnormal or inhuman powers. It was never determined if what they had seen was true since they couldn't remember the incident days later._

_One day, Li was shocked to hear that his sister had gone to the lake without him since she always did. He stormed out of the house and ran towards it. As he drew closer, one of the fake stars burned brightly, while a blue lightning flashed where the lake was. Fear overwhelmed him that something had happened to his sister, which caused him to hurry to her side. When he arrived he stared at his sister lost for words and scared to death. She was standing in the pond with fish popping up onto the surface like beach wood._

"_X—Xing? Wha—what… happened?" he choked up saying._

_She slowly turned to face him, showing her blank stare at him._

"_I did this, Brother," she said coldly._

_Li felt a chill run up his spine. He couldn't move from her words. There was no compassion or sorrow embedding from them, as if her own soul had vanished from her body. The girl before him wasn't the sister he had made a promise to protect, or had joyfully played with. She was the devil himself._

_A bitter taste swirled inside his stomach. Slowly it started making its way up the wrong path, which Li tried to fight back, but he instead fell to his knees and abstracted his nausea. He felt another batch develop and didn't fight it._

_Li breathed heavily and glared at the monster before him that made him puke._

_Suddenly, her eyes rolled up and fainted, causing her to plummet under the lake's surface. Li stared at her, thinking it was best the emotionless being drowned and lay dead with the fish. However, if he didn't save her, Li believed he might succumb to such inhumanity._

_His sanity overtook him and pulled her above the surface. He held Xing in his arms and looked down at her. She seemed at peace, making him wonder how someone like her could do such a horrible thing._

_Xxx_

_The Shengshun family sat quietly in the family room eating their food the next day. Li kept quiet about what had happened out at the lake. He was also grateful that his parents hadn't gone out there either._

_Li downed his first serving, as his parents shook their heads concerning his bottomless pit. He quickly snatched up seconds and began devouring it. Xing sat quietly while she stared at her uneaten food, as if it were covered in maggots._

_Li went to go for a third serving, but his father slapped his hand. Li looked at his father peculiarly, as his father shook his index finger back and forth to illustrate the words, "no more." Li pouted while crossing his arms in protest._

_"Xing, aren't you hungry?" Li's mom asked._

"_No," replied Xing._

"_Eat, Xing," ordered his dad._

"_No."_

"_Xing Shengshun! Eat your food!"_

_Xing glared over at her dad with a blank stare that looked as if she was going to strike him down. Li began to fear she would, and quickly said, "Eh, dad, if she's not hungry, I'll eat her food."_

"_If you could you would eat all our food in one day, Li," his mom chuckled. "I can't wait to see you turn thirty. You're going to get fat."_

_Li smiled at his mom while scratching the back of his head. Xing looked at her mom for a second, and then stared at her food. Moments later, she began to eat it, letting Li breathe out some stress that had built up inside._

_Suddenly, their front door burst open, as men in co-op uniforms stormed into the living room, knocking over the beat-up couch and coffee table. They swept the room with their rifles at the ready._

"_What the…?" shouted Li's dad, as he stood. "Who are you people?"_

_They aimed their guns at him and pulverized his body with a dozen bullets, spattering his blood all over the family room. Li's mom screamed out in fright, causing the gunmen to point their guns at her, and opened fired, devouring her with countless ammo. Her blood scattered all over Li's body, making him look on in shock, as she fell staring at him with a frozen petrified expression._

"_Which one are we looking for, Taichou?" one of the co-op men asked._

"_The girl isn't showing any emotions! Kill the boy!" ordered the captain._

_Li tensed, but pushed it aside and moved out of the way, as bullets eradicated where he had sat. He grabbed his sister's arm, ran towards the back door, and stormed out of the house._

"_Don't shoot or you'll hit the girl!" the captain shouted._

_Li and his sister ran towards the lake. As they entered the forest, Li breathed in an unbearable stench. He figured, since he himself hadn't returned to the lake, the smell was being released from the dead fish. Li wanted to puke, but he swallowed it, as they exited the forest and ran along the shoreline. He stopped after noticing more men patrolling the area. They spotted Li and his sister and made their pursuit after them. Li turned around to run the other way, but couldn't as the other co-op men approached._

"_Back away from the girl and you won't get hurt," stated the captain._

_Li picked up a stick and looked back at his sister to say, "Xing, get out of here. I'll hold them off!"_

"_No, you run, Brother," said his sister. "I'll handle them."_

_Li saw the devil rise in her and feared the worse. He didn't want to see her kill a human being, fearing he would lose his sister completely, and pushed her to where she stumbled into the water. Li charged at the captain and swung wildly at him to strike the stick against his side. The captain grabbed his arm, threw him onto the ground to where he lay on his stomach, and placed his left foot on Li's neck to hold him down._

"_Why do you want my sister?" Li asked._

"_She's special," said the captain._

"_You mean her ability to kill without compassion?"_

"_It seems you know. You'll have to die. Get the girl!"_

"Xing, run!"

_Xing stood still as the co-op men trotted and swished through the lake towards her. Li lay watching helplessly as he knew what was going to happen next. His sister's eyes burned blood red, as her body outlined in a haunting blue color, and then a flash of light engulfed the shallow depths._

_The co-op men howled in excruciating pain that Li had never heard before. The sight was unbearable to watch, as their eyes bulged and turned red while their bodies shook frantically._

_After Xing released her power, the co-op men fell forward or backwards to splash motionlessly and lay amongst the decaying fish. The captain cursed while stepping off Li to aim his gun at Xing. Li scrambled to his feet and bit the captain's leg, causing him to scream while firing his gun and missing Xing by centimeters. The captain stumbled into the lake glaring at Li, as he aimed his gun. Xing narrowed her eyes at the captain and electrocuted him._

_He didn't scream from the pain, but stared in shock from being caught off guard by two brats. Xing dispelled her ability, allowing him to fall forward and slumber next to his platoon. The co-op men that were still alive retreated in fright._

_Xing looked over at her brother and asked, "Are you all right?" She showed a little compassion in her eyes. Li stared at her baffled, seeing the sister he knew still living within a demon. "Brother, are you all right?"_

_"Ah?" questioned Li. "Oh… yeah."_

"_I'm pleased."_

_Xing passed out again, causing Li to grab her so she wouldn't drown. He held her close to him, wondering what would happen to them since their parents were dead. Li let the words linger in his brain, knowing he would never get to taste his mom's cooking, or see his father read the morning newspaper._

_Tears formed in his eyes and then poured out like waterfalls. Why had Xing become so arrogant, who was responsible for the unforgiving act that had caused his family's demise, and for what reason? Would Xing and he die from starvation, or would they be able to live on their own? Maybe news of the killing would reach the city, and then they would be put in foster care. If that did come true, then Xing and Li would probably be separated. Li didn't want that to happen, even if he was scared of his own sister. He wanted to be with her forever._

_A pare of feet walking through the grassy plain in the distance drew closer. Li didn't pay attention to it; believing it was another co-op man having the guts to finish off Li and his sister. It stopped a few meters away, which caused him to look up and see an old man staring down at him._

"_Such power," he said._

_Li laid his sister on the shoreline and stood before the man shouting, "I won't let you take my sister!"_

"_You don't have a choice, boy."_

_The man pulled out a revolver and aimed it at Li's head. Li tensed and wondered what to do. His fighting stick was smashed into pieces, and his sister was taking a nap. He believed he was going to join his parents._

_Someone behind the old man shouted in Japanese._

_The old man turned to face a bulky man in his forties, wearing the same uniform as the co-op men with out the mask. He stood next to an attractive woman with green hair who seemed to be the same age. She wore a red and black jumpsuit that formed to her hourglass figure._

_The old man glared back and asked a question in the same tongue. The forty-year-old man pointed at Li, and then flexed his arm while clenching his fist, as he said, "Chikara," which Li believed meant power from the man's body language._

_The old man laughed at the thought, causing the forty-year-old woman to yell at him. She then looked at Li smiling, and sexually muttered words at him that made him wonder what she had said._

_The old man laughed again while repeating her words. He glared at her, saying, "Ahou!"_

_The woman walked up to him, grabbed his shirt, and muttered threatening words through clenched teeth. The forty-year-old man placed his right hand on her shoulder and shook his head. The woman frowned and let go of him. He then walked over to Li and knocked him out._

_xxx_

Hei jolted awake from a dream he hadn't had in what seemed like years, and wondered why it had suddenly surfaced.

He looked over at Misaki and his daughter to see they were still fast asleep. Yin was sitting by the window with the streetlight slightly illuminating her. She turned her head towards him with the light flickering in her right eye.

"Is everything all right, Hei?" she asked.

"Hai," he replied.

"A bad dream?"

"A slight bad one. Nothing to worry about."

Yin sat in silence for a few seconds before nodding and returning her attention to the light. Hei lay on his back to think about what his dream had meant. However, before he could figure it out, he fell asleep.

**Darker than Black**

Future Mito, his younger self, Ken, Brian and Akira exited a car stopped along the roadside with Mount Fuji in the distance. Ken shivered from the cold and drew his coat close to his body. They entered the forest and walked into the murky terrain.

Future Mito cut and pushed branches out of his way, as they hiked through the woods. Akira stepped into a muddy puddle and frowned. Young Mito bent back a branch and let it go to plow into Ken's face.

"Damn it! Watch where you're swinging things, Mito!" stated Ken annoyed.

"Would you shut up about your ugly face, Ken!" shouted Akira. "I'm wearing expensive leather shoes here!"

"I told you to wear sneakers," reminded future Mito.

Akira looked over at him and said, "I don't like them since they hurt my flat feet, or have you forgotten for crying out loud?"

"No, I haven't."

"Tsk! Are you sure he's out here?"

"Hai, I'm sure."

Water dripped off a high branch and landed on Ken's head. He cursed and looked at future Mito's back to shout, "Explain to me why we need this guy to find BK201?"

"You never stop blabbering, do you?" future Mito asked. "I have my reasons why."

"What's the reason?"

"Oh, just zip it, Ken!" shouted Akira. "I don't want to be out here either!"

"Then I say we forget about that moron and head back!"

"You don't want to go near him because he makes you pee your pants whenever he gives you a dirty look!"

Ken's jaw line tightened as he glared furiously at Akira.

The Syndicate continued their march through the woods with Akira complaining about every mud puddle, and Ken freaked out at harmless critters. After a half an hour's journey a small windowless cabin came into view.

It was built out of the forest's timber laying horizontal, blanketed in vines, and a chimney that traveled up the right side of the hut with smoke seeping from it. The door was tied together out of thinner wood and stood vertically. Cut lumber was stacked to resemble a pyramid in front of the house

They rustled over to the small hut. Future Mito walked up to the door and knocked on it. There was no answer.

"Looks like no one's home," said Ken frightfully. "Let's go."

"Not so fast," said future Mito. "He's probably hunting out in the woods."

"Oi, come on!" barked Akira. "No more walking through anymore puddles!"

"Why does it matter, Akira?" spoke up young Mito. "Your shoes are already ruined."

Akira snorted. They walked into the forest and trotted up a steep hill to look for the man they had come so many kilometers to meet. The higher they ventured, the colder it got, and the ground gradually faded into a mixed color of green and white. Kilometers into their journey they were walking in two feet of snow.

Suddenly, Ken's leg was caught by something, freaking him out hysterically, and then whipped upwards to hang upside down three meters in the air, as snow fluttered off branches.

"What the hell?" he shouted. "Oi, get me down from here!"

Akira went to go help but stopped when someone in white camouflage came up behind him and placed a chilling steel knife to his neck. His dark eyes showed age behind them, but also revealed death as well.

"You four have a lot of nerve coming to my place," said the man. "I told you people not to come looking for me or I would kill you all. I'll even kill that sorry excuse for a clone, Mito."

"I'm no clone," said future Mito.

"Hoo, then what are you?" Future Mito told him who he was. "The future? What a load of crap!"

"Oi, baka, its true!" shouted Ken, his face turning red from the blood rushing to his head.

The old man looked up at Ken, making him shiver and pee his pants. The old man then looked back at future Mito.

"Why did you seek me out?" he asked. "To help your cause in the future?"

"No, we need your help finding BK201," replied future Mito.

"Bai?" the man asked, slanting his eyes. "Didn't she die in South America?"

"That's right. You wouldn't know. BK201 is now Hei."

The old man stared at him baffled.

"You're joking," he barked.

"It… has… happened," Akira tried to say.

"How?"

"We're… not sure… but somehow… Bai's power was… passed to Hei."

The old man stood still as he pondered on the conversation. After a few seconds of silence, he glared at future Mito, and said, "Even if you five are right, Hei would most likely kill himself since he hates Contractors."

"He didn't," replied future Mito.

"Liar."

"It's not a lie. He lived and he had worked for us."

"He had tried killing his sister back when I was training him! I had asked him why, and he had said he would rather see her dead then let her live like a killing machine."

"It's… the truth… and he… hasn't killed… himself… yet. If he… did… it would be… a blessing to… us. Please… help us find… and kill him."

The old man loosened his hold on Akira and began to giggle. Akira checked his neck to feel blood seeping from a small cut, as the old man started to laugh like a maniac.

"You're all insane if you think I am going to help you," he chuckled. "With his sister's power now, Hei is the ultimate soldier. Even I don't think I could beat him."

"Please," younger Mito begged.

"I refuse!" said the old man.

"You old fart!" shouted Ken, his face blood red now. "How the hell can you be so sure if you don't fight him? Besides, I remembered you saying you like a challenge. I think now that you're over the hill you think you are too weak?"

The old man glared up at him devilishly, which made Ken cringe for his life and stain his pants and shirt. The old man threw his knife at Ken, freaking him out, and cut the rope to drop him like a ton of bricks on his head. The old man then glared at future Mito.

"All right, I'll find Hei," he said.

xxx

Kanami sat against a closet door in Li's apartment. Li looked blissful holding Misaki in his arms, although she could tell something was bugging him. Misaki could tell as well, but she said nothing of it. Maybe it was because something was bothering her.

However, Kanami didn't care about their problems. Her attention was mostly surrounded on Nina. The only two that knew about her was Li and his Doll. Misaki had told her what she knew about Nina, but there seemed to be something wrong about the story.

She looked over at the balcony where Nina sat staring out the window. The couple of days she had spent with them boggled her mind. Nina had an appetite similar to Li's and a desire for greasy food like Misaki. Her eyes were identical to Misaki's eyes, and her personality mimicked Li's. It was possible she had picked up his habits since she had _supposedly_ worked with Li, but it didn't make sense how Misaki's traits crossed her path.

Kanami sighed and figured she was jumping to conclusions. She fished for her smokes in her back pocket, pulled out the box, and realized she was out.

"Crap," she cursed. "Oi, Li-kun, is there a smoke shop around here?"

Li averted his attention towards her.

"Eh, yeah," he said. It's just over the bridge."

"Thanks. Misaki, will you come with me?" Kanami demanded.

"Eh? Why? You know how much I hate the smell of tobacco," said Misaki.

"Because I don't want to be alone. Somebody might be waiting out there for one of us, and I might need a shoulder to lean on if something happens."

Misaki narrowed her eyes, as Nina smirked at the comment, as if it had made her reminisce on an old memory.

"I'll go with you," said Nina, as she looked over at Kanami. "I know the area pretty well, and I don't mind the smell since I used to smoke."

Kanami blinked at her baffled. She had found one trait concerning the woman that wasn't connected to Misaki or Li. It proved she was over-stepping her boundaries at detective work, and it told her that she had been hanging around Misaki too long.

"Eh, I appreciate the offer, but I really want Misaki since I need to talk to her alone," said Kanami.

"All right," Misaki frowned.

She stood from Li's arms and exited the room with Kanami. They descended the stairs, turned the corner, and started heading over the bridge.

"What is it?" Misaki asked.

"What's bugging you?" Kanami asked. "And don't say the situation we're in. I know that's not it."

Misaki stared down at the ground. Her eyes shivered with fright at something she wanted to say, but she couldn't find the right words. She looked back at her friend while moving her mouth, as they crossed the bridge.

"I—I'm… pregnant," Misaki stuttered.

Kanami froze in fright. It didn't take a brain surgeon to know who the father was, so there was no need to ask that, which made it difficult to get a conversation to start.

Misaki nervously waited for a reply. Unfortunately, Kanami instead sighed, as she continued walking, and said, "I need a smoke."

"Kanami!" whined Misaki, as she followed her friend. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

"Like what? 'What the heck were you thinking?' or, 'why didn't you use protection?' I'm not your daddy, Misaki. You're a big girl and old enough to do whatever you want with whomever you want."

"Aren't you concerned he or she is the child of a Contractor?"

"Not really. Why? Are you?"

Misaki didn't answer her question. They turned around a corner, walked down a couple more blocks, and came up to the small wooden smoke house. A plump balding man kneeling in the window bowed at them. Kanami returned the gesture. She ordered her smokes, paid the man one-hundred forty yen, and began to head back to the apartment. She opened the box, pulled out a cigarette, and went to go light it, but Misaki grabbed it from her mouth. Kanami blinked at her baffled.

"I'm pregnant, remember," said Misaki. "I don't want my unborn child breathing it. This is also why I didn't want to trot along."

Misaki continued walking on as Kanami sighed. She threw up her hands in defeat and followed.

"Did you tell Li-kun?" Kanami asked.

"No," replied Misaki. "I don't know how to tell him."

"Just tell him like how you told me."

"This isn't a game, Kanami. This is serious. And besides, with my luck, Nina will end up telling him."

"Nina? You told her?"

"No, but the way she has been staring at me, mostly my stomach, I think she knows. She has also been trying to hide the fact that I've been waking her up every morning to throw up."

"Ah, morning sickness. Something I never want to experience if I ever get pregnant. Speaking of Nina, there's something about that girl that bugs me."

"What?"

"The way she acts. Whenever she speaks to you, she feels uncomfortable; as if she's afraid you'll lash out at her about something. However, she doesn't act like that around me."

"I've noticed, but it could also mean that she fears me because I was once a cop."

"That's another thing. To me, she seems to be a cop."

Misaki stopped as she grabbed her friend's arm to hold up her from rounding the next corner.

"Wait one second. Nina, a cop?" questioned Misaki. "Kanami, please. She's too much of a rogue person to be a cop. Nina had broken into a dealership and stolen a car. Have you forgotten that I had lectured her for endangering those people's lives at Tokyo Tower? Two of them included Saitou and Kouno."

"I haven't forgotten, Misaki. But I stand by what I say for the fact that she had done what it took to save those lives. Even though it wasn't pretty how she did it. One other thing, it strikes me odd that she always refers to Li as Hei-san. Isn't he supposed to show the respect to her and call her Nina-san?"

Misaki looked at her perplexed. Kanami snatched back her cigarette and headed around the corner. Misaki thought on her friend's words, realizing Nina had said to Kiko she was twenty-five, and Li was around twenty-three. Why hadn't she caught that? She figured it was from all the stress.

She turned the corner to see Kanami half way across the bridge smoking her cigarette. Unfortunately, for Misaki she had caught the down-wind of it. She placed her sleeve over her mouth so not to take in the smell and protect her child, even if it meant getting the smell on her clothes. She began to walk across the bridge and found her eyes staring up at Nina still sitting on the windowsill.

_Who are you really? _Misaki thought to herself.

xxx

_For over a year, Li had been trained in martial arts and weapons usage with his new master. Li didn't want to be locked up in a prison that was teaching him a foreign language. He didn't want to know how to kill people with his bare hands, nor how to keep a blade sharp. All he wanted was to return home to China with his sister._

_He removed a loose piece of metal from his bed and stuck his right hand through the food disposal to enter the door's code. The door unlocked in which Li snuck out of his prison and headed down the long and dark halls towards his master's room. He was attempting to assassinate him so he could rescue his sister and leave this hellhole. He reached his enslaver's room; typed in the code number he remembered a while back, and quietly opened the door. To Li's satisfaction his master's back was turned while sitting at a desk and writing. A small curved lamp sat on the desk for light._

_Li pulled out a split double-edged blade from his back pocket, and crept up to his master while raising it over his head. He got within a meter of the old man, and hesitated to stab him._

_Don't do it, Li. A voice said in his head. If you do this, you'll be no better than him._

_"But if I don't, Xing and I will be stuck here forever," Li whispered to himself._

_Don't do it._

_"I'm sorry, I have to, for Xing."_

_Li closed his eyes and swung the blade as hard as he could at his master's back. Unfortunately, the man had known he was there and grabbed his arm without looking at him._

"_You did well sneaking in here," he said. "But you made too much noise, gaki,"_

_His master tightened his grip, making Li drop the knife and cringe in pain. He then was thrown across the room, slamming into the back wall to crack it, and slid onto the floor. His master stood and slowly approached Li._

"_You want to protect her, but you are weak!" he said, towering before Li. "Even so, she doesn't care about you anymore."_

"_Liar!" Li shouted in Cantonese. "Xing loves me!"_

_Li stood and ran at his enslaver to throw punches and kicks wildly at him. His master smiled impressively at him, as he easily dodged the attacks._

"_You are weak!" he barked in Niho-jin. "You can't even lay a hand on me!"_

_Li's body filled with burning rage, causing him to swing his right fist defiantly, and connected with his master's face. His master looked at him surprised, but he then smiled devilishly and punched Li ten times as hard._

"_When you hit your opponent, you don't stop!" his master instructed._

_Li lay on the floor struggling to stand._

"_Give… back… Xing…" he muttered in Niho-jin. "Give… back… Xing…"_

_Li's master frowned down at him and kicked him in the stomach._

"_There is no more Xing, only Bai!" he informed._

"_Uso… my sister name… it Xing. My name… is… Li… Li Shengshun…"_

_His master kicked Li continuously, as he spat out, "Li and Xing Shengshun are dead now! There is only Bai and Hei! Understood?"_

"_No… my name is Li Sheng…"_

_His master kicked down on Li's head and knocked him out._

_xxx_

Hei sat at the window while he thought on the two memories he had had in the pass two days. He wondered why they had surfaced and what it meant for him in his remaining time. He wondered if he could keep his promise to Riku when the time came for him to meet the real Shinegami.

Hei sighed and stood from the window to grab his blue coat and exited the apartment. He descended the stairs to head for the park where he had his briefings, and laid on the circular bench to stare up at the sky. How nostalgic it felt to be here without Haung and Mao around. It only felt like yesterday Haung had told him he had to dig up a glass tube under a sakura tree.

Hei smiled at the memory, remembering he had complained why the Black Reaper had to resort to digging a hole. A horrendous feeling overwhelmed him as he remembered he had tried to kill Misaki and her companions. He had gotten lucky that Mao had dropped the container due to his admirer.

Hei sighed. Even if he did succeed from being killed, what kind of life could he give Misaki and Riku since he was the Black Reaper and a Contractor?

"You all right, Otosan?" his daughter asked.

Hei looked to his right and saw Riku standing a few meters away. He was astounded she had snuck up on him without revealing her presence and wondered if he was losing his touch. No, it was how well she had crept up on him.

"No, just thinking of bad memories," he replied. "Did I wake you?"

"No, I've always been a light sleeper. Yin and I use to come here a lot since she had spent so much time with you here. Why did you come here anyway?"

"I don't know."

"Really?" muttered Riku, as she sat next to his head. Hei sat up and looked at her while she stared up at the fake stars. "Okasan once told me that when somebody returns to a place, it is because the memory is so strong they couldn't let go of it."

"She said that?" Hei asked while looking at his daughter.

"Ah, and I believe it's because okasan always returned to the restaurant and batting cages you and her had went to before the incident with Hell's Gate."

"Really?"

"Hai," replied Riku, as she looked at him. She returned her attention upwards and continued saying, "She would also pass your apartment on the way home. I didn't understand why until I saw your place. Even then, when okasan died, I continued going to the batting cages, not for yours and her memory, but for hers and mine. I always believed if I sat in that spot for the longest time I thought I could feel her presence around me."

"Riku?" Hei whispered.

"Well, I think I'm going back to get some sleep. You coming, Otosan?" Riku asked while glancing at him.

"Hai," he nodded.

Hei and Riku stood and headed back to the apartment.

As they walked, a feeling struck Hei, as if they were being followed, which Riku seemed to have noticed as well. They decided to head in a different path in hope of losing whoever was following them. They stopped in an area to check to see if they had lost their tail. Believing they had they continued. Suddenly, Hei pushed Riku to the side and ducked as a foot came at his head.

"Well done at trying to lose me," spoke up someone. "But you made too much noise, gaki."

A man in his fifty's stepped into a light from a lamppost in which caused Hei to tremble in fear.

"Sa—Sadou… sensei?" he stuttered.

xxx

Japanese Words:

Nani: What

Soka: Really

Uso: Liar

Chikara: Power

Ahou: moron

Japanese Name:

Sadou: Decisive man


	22. Chapter 22

Darker than Black

Chapter Twenty-two: To Surpass the Best

Eight Years before Hells Gate Incident

Li sparred against Sadou in a huge training room on blue mats with climbing ropes nearby. Any moves Li thought of his sensei countered easily. He kicked at his sensei's stomach, but his sensei grabbed it and threw Li across the room. He clenched his teeth from frustration. He charged at his sensei only to be impaled by a high kick and flopped onto his back.

"What's wrong?" Sadou asked. "Where's all that desire to protect your sister gone to, gaki?"

"Curse you!" muttered Li through clenched teeth.

He stood and continued to attack, his punches and kicks missing, as Sadou sidestepped every move smiling. Sadou grabbed Li's arm and threw him in the air towards the ropes. Li grabbed one with his left hand and swung at his sensei.

"I am going to beat you!" Li shouted, as he brought back his fist and swung it.

His sensei snorted and roundhouse kicked him, knocking Li off the robes to send him across the room, and slammed onto the floor to slide a few meters. Li struggled to stand while cursing and snarling at his sensei.

"What? Why… can't… can't I… hit… you?" he said in pain.

"Because you are weak, and your little impression of Tarzan proves it," replied his sensei. "You should never attack your opponent head on like that. You have no cover and you leave yourself wide open for an attack, gaki."

"You son of a… stop calling me gaki! My name is Li!"

"Li is dead! You are Hei!"

Li continued his assault; not laying a finger on his sensei and getting pounded left and right. His sensei gave him a swift uppercut to send him airborne and land on his back. He coughed and spat up blood while looking up at his sensei from the enduring beating.

"I'm… I am… going to beat you with my own bare hands."

His sensei smirked and kicked him in the stomach, causing Li to rise in the air, and then he was roundhouse kicked across the training room. He smashed into the wall, knocking his breath out, and dropped to the floor. Li coughed to get air into his lungs.

"If you want to beat me, then you have to get stronger," said his sensei.

Present

Riku stared at her father peculiarly, noticing fear embedding from his pores, and then she gazed at the man he had called sensei. She felt nauseous. Her father hardly feared anything from the stories she had heard, but to see him shaking scared her.

"Wh—why are you… here?" her father asked.

"The Syndicate sought me out to seek you out, gaki," replied the man named Sadou.

"The… the Syndicate? But you left them after Heaven's Gate. Why are you with them again?"

"To see how strong you've become…" Without warning Sadou dashed at him, closing the distance in seconds. "Hei," he finished saying while smiling, and then roundhouse kicked her father.

Riku stared surprised and muttered, "He's fast!"

He tumbled over a few times and skidded to a halt to get his bearings, but Sadou was already on top of him, kicking her father again. Her father went with the hit and roundhouse kicked, but it was blocked.

"Too slow!" Sadou lectured.

He punched her father in the stomach, followed by a hard right across the face, making him stumble back. Riku clenched her teeth in anger and attack the old man.

"Ri… Nina, don't!" shouted her father, but she ignored him.

Her attacks had little effect on him, but made Sadou stare at her baffled from her persistence, and then he smiled with delight. Suddenly, he snatched her arm, twisted it, and wrapped his free arm around her neck.

"Persistent, isn't she?" Sadou stated.

"Let her go!" demanded her father. "She has nothing to with this!"

"Maybe so, but I can tell you want to protect her like you wanted to protect Bai."

"LET HER GO!"

"I WILL!" Sadou shouted with joy. "But the only way I'm going to do that is if you show me Bai's power that's inside you now, Hei!"

Her father's eyes twitched from his comment and clenched his teeth in anger.

"So that's why you sought me out," he stated.

"Hai, now use her power on me! Then, and only then, will you defeat me, HEI!"

Her father stared at him lost for words, as he thought of what to do. She wondered why he was hesitating on using his power, but then she believed she knew the answer.

"I get it," spoke up his sensei. "You don't want to use her power and have the Syndicate come blazing in and put that former officer and lab woman in danger. If you are so concerned for their well being, then meet me in front of the Imperial Palace to save this girl you call Nina."

Her father's eyes widened and shook in fear for her safety, as he shouted, "No, let her go!"

Sadou ran off with Riku as she tried to reach out to her father. They turned a corner in which made her father lose sight of them. Riku began to fear she was going to die.

xxx

Misaki woke up from a disturbing feeling embedding in her stomach, but believed she was imagining it when she didn't feel it anymore. She lay quietly on her futon, as she placed her hand on her stomach.

She couldn't believe she was going to be a mother about seven months from now, and Li was going to be a father.

_Li? Was it a convenient name? _Misaki questioned to herself. _No, it was his real name; it had to be._ _That isn't my only problem either. What will our child think of his or her father as a Contractor?_

_His or her? Am I going to have a son or daughter?_

Misaki pondered on it, and then thought of names. She thought maybe if she had a son she would call him Li the second, or Li Jr. No, she would reframe from doing that. Misaki then thought what if she had a daughter, what her name would be. Sakura, Megumi, Masami, Riku?

_Stop thinking about this, Misaki. _She told herself. _This is something you should plan with Li-kun._

_Li-kun, Riku? How close they sounded to each other._ Misaki smiled to herself.

Suddenly, the door burst opened. Misaki sat up to see Li had entered looking hysteric, as he fished through his closet. Yin looked over at him while Kanami drowsily sat up.

"Li, what's wrong?" Misaki asked.

"Ri—Nina… was kidnapped!" stuttered Li, making Misaki think he was about to say Riku.

Misaki looked on frightened and felt the bitter discomfort again for a split second after hearing Li's comment. She was also sorely hurt to see Li in disarray for Nina.

"What did you say?" a tired Kanami asked. "By whom?"

"My sensei," replied Li.

"Your sensei? You have a sensei?"

"Hai, and now he's got her."

Li told them what had happened in the park and where his sensei was waiting for him. He was about to storm out the door, but he stopped as Misaki shouted, "I'm coming with you!"

He looked back at her. Misaki held her composure before him, showing no weakness or jealousy in her feature.

"Misaki, no," pleaded Li.

"I'm coming with you whether you like it or not. I can see how much you love her, and I want to help save her with you."

The words she had spoken made it feel like she had stabbed her own heart, and she had expected her stomach to ache, but it didn't. Li stared at her shocked, as Kanami looked at her and Li confused. Yin sat quietly by the window listening to the conversation.

"Mi—Misaki?" Li muttered. "I, ah… I, ah…"

"It's… all right, Li," stuttered Misaki. "I'm not mad. You and Nina knew each other before you and I met."

"Well… It's, ah…" Li averted his eyes away from hers.

"Li, you don't have to explain. Please, let me help save her."

"Me too!" shouted Kanami, as she stepped forward. Misaki looked at her puzzled. After yesterday's comment about Nina, she was flabbergasted her best friend wanted to help. "I may have my uncertainties about her, but she did help you guys save me, and she didn't even know me."

"I want to save Nina too," spoke up Yin. "She's my friend, and I won't leave a friend behind."

"Everyone?" said Li baffled, but then smiled. "All right."

xxx

The Foreign Affairs were gathered in the conference room with a blown up picture of the woman who had taken out GK001. They had gotten their hands on the photo from one of the many spectators that had witnessed her little pose session a few days ago.

Yamato glared at it while he had his arms crossed. This woman was believed to be linked with the murder of JY407, and perhaps the breaking and entering concerning the stolen BMW.

He stared mostly at her eyes. How they were similar to Misaki's, which could be a coincident, but he didn't believe in such things. For all he knew she could be a long lost cousin or sister. Even so, what connection did she have to this case?

"Do we have an identity on her?" he asked, as he kept his attention on the screen.

"No, but the young lady she was with had said her name is Nina," said Saitou.

"Have you looked through the data base using facial recognition?" He asked, looking back at them.

"We have, sir," nodded Ootsuka. "We've checked the Niho-jin, British, Chinese, Russian and the American data base. Nothing. It's as if she doesn't exist. The only close resemblance of the girl it comes up with is Misaki."

"Is that so?" questioned Yamato, as he narrowed his eyes at the picture.

"She at least had to have lived in Japan," spoke up Kouno. "I mean, her Japanese was perfect. No slurs in her words, what so ever."

"Put out an APB on her. If she so much as sneezes I want to know when and where. Got it?"

"Hai," they said.

The Foreign Affairs stood and exited the room, except Yamato and Misuyu. Misuyu walked up beside him to stare at Nina's posing picture.

"What do you think, Yamato?" he asked.

"I'm not sure what to think?" replied Yamato. "Her eyes boggle my mind, which makes me want to interrogate Commander Kirihara Naoyasu, but I know I wouldn't get a syllable out of him."

"So all we have to do is get lucky at capturing her."

"Ah, but with her experience it'll be like trying to capture BK201."

Misuyu looked at him perplexed.

_Darker than Black_

Riku unexpectedly sneezed while she stood on the bridge in front of the Imperial Palace's front entrance. She twiddled her nose from the itch like Samantha from Bewitched, and then glared at Sadou's back. His arms were crossed and his expression looked to be neutral. She irritably fought with the ropes that were digging into her wrist behind her back.

"Why didn't you take me to the Syndicate?" she asked.

He looked over his shoulder and said, "Excuse me?"

"It would have been best for you to take me to the Syndicate and make it difficult for Hei-san to save me. Isn't that right?"

"Hai, it would have, but I hate the Syndicate," Sadou replied, making Riku look at him confused. He turned away from her. "I had a partner a while back; _the_ first Contractor. We had gone on a few missions together, but after I had run into Hei, I decided to stay back and train him while she continued her duty. After I had finished training Hei, the Syndicate teamed him and his sister up with her."

"Amber? She was your partner?"

"It seems you know about her," he said while glancing back at her again. He looked away and continued saying, "After Heaven's Gate disappeared, she had sought me out and told me about how the Syndicate wanted to wipe out all the Contractors. That included Amber. From that point on, I had despised them and left."

Riku pondered on why he had mentioned Amber as he had, and then it hit her. He had cared for her, even though she had become a Contractor.

"So why help them now?" Riku asked. "Don't you think Amber wouldn't be happy with you if she knew you were going after Hei-san?"

"You're right, but I had to see if Bai's power is really inside Hei." He smiled with glee. "If it is, then he can finally surpass me."

"So all this is about you wanting to fight Hei-san?"

"Hai, daughter of the Black Reaper."

Riku flinched at his words.

"They told you I'm his daughter," she said.

"No, you did," Sadou smirked. "The determination to protect him and the urge to fight like you did was just like your father when he was ten… Kirihara-gaki."

Riku jolted as shock surged through her body. This man had figured out who her mother was only in a few hours. She had feared the stories about her father and the things he had done, but the fear she was feeling about this man was ten times worse.

"How… how did you…? How did you figure out Misaki is my mother?" she asked shaking.

"I myself use to be a detective," began Sadou. "I had met your mother before the meteor had hit. You two have the same eyes and the determination to bring criminals to justice."

"How did you start working for the Syndicate?"

"Your grandfather. He knew how smart and strong I was. He introduced me to Amber himself."

Movement from the street caught their attention. Riku's parents, Kanami and Yin approached them. Her heart began to pound against her chest at the fact that they all had come to rescue her. They stopped before the bridge.

"Let her go, Sensei," addressed her father like a pupil.

"This _gaki _is all yours, Hei!" stated his sensei, and grabbed a surprised Riku by her shirt to push her towards her father.

She walked towards him, as he approached her, and as they met in the center of the bridge he embraced her in his arms. He pushed her at arms length, pulled out his blade, and cut the ropes.

"You all right?" he asked.

"Hai," she said, noticing her mother looking jealous at them.

"Enough!" shouted Sadou. "Now show me Bai's power!"

Riku's father pushed her behind him and said without looking at her, "You four please stand back."

"But," spoke up Riku.

"Stay back. He won't hurt you four."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just do."

She looked at him confused, but then nodded as she said, "All right."

Her father and his sensei stared at each other for a few seconds. Suddenly, her father attacked. He swung his right fist missing, as Sadou ducked and punched him in the stomach. Sadou followed up with an uppercut, and then kicked her father across the face to send him over the wooden railing and into the moat.

"Li!" shouted Riku's mom.

She ran over to the railing with Kanami, Yin and Riku following, as Sadou jumped and squat on top of it. They peered down as Riku's father popped his head above the surface.

"I told you, gaki, you can only beat me with Bai's power," he stated.

Her father frowned, whipped out his cable line to hook onto a branch, and soared onto the grass.

"Hoo, still playing Tarzan? I thought I had broken that habit of yours?" said Sadou.

Sadou dashed along the railing and leaped onto the ground to attack Riku's father. Her father went on the defense, trying to block what looked like a dozen hits in a split second, and then ended up being kneed in his stomach. Her father clenched away the pain and swung a connecting right hook, followed by a left, and then a roundhouse kick, which knocked his sensei onto his rear.

Sadou stood from the ground and wiped away the blood that had seeped from his lip.

"Well done," applauded his sensei. "You followed through this time, Hei. However, that isn't enough to beat me. Show me Bai's power!"

"I refuse!" Riku's father shouted.

"Why? Why do you refuse to show me her power?"

"I told you before, Sensei. I will beat you with my own bare hands!"

Riku's father charged at his sensei, showing the determination and desire that had to have been sealed away for years. It seemed that her father was having the upper hand, his punches and kicks connecting, but Sadou was giving his share of licks in too.

Finally Sadou won the little battle, as he kicked Riku's father hard to send him into a parked van under a light pole. Sadou slowly walked up to him smiling. He grabbed her father by the neck and lifted him to press him up against the van.

"You are weak, Hei," lectured Sadou. "You being so weak you couldn't protect Bai! Instead she is protecting you! You can't even protect that gaki I had kidnapped from you hours ago! If you can't protect her, how can you protect the woman you so dearly love?"

Riku's mother twitched slightly, and then looked over at Riku. She figured her mother thought Sadou had meant Riku, but the truth was meant for her mom.

"The only way you can save any of them is with Bai's power!" yelled Sadou.

"My sister's name…" choked her father. "My sister's name… isn't Bai… It's… Xing! And my name is Li… Li Shengshun!"

Riku noticed her mother's eyes widen from her father's statement.

Her father's eyes burned red, as he and the van outlined in blue, surprising Sadou and allowing her father to kick him. He whipped out his cable line to hook onto the light pole, and swung off as the van exploded. His sensei was thrown back and tumbled a few times. He stood while clenching his teeth from the surprised attack, as he tried to peer through the smoke.

Suddenly, Sadou's eyes widened in shock, as her father came swinging towards him through the smoke, bearing his knife, and struck his sensei in the heart. Sadou was thrown backwards a few yards and landed on his back looking up at the fake stars.

Riku's father walked over to look down at him with a stern face. Sadou smiled as he chuckled.

"In the end… You had to use her power… to beat me…" he muttered. "It seems… she protected… you…"

"My sister has been returning the favor of years that I had protected her," Riku's father replied.

"Really? How stupid… that sounds."

"Maybe so, but that's how I see it."

Sadou laughed while coughing up blood.

"What a joke. At least… you used… cover this time… Hei… No, Li Shegn…shun…"

Sadou let out his last breath, his eyes staring at the sky, but they weren't taking in its feature. Riku's father stared down at his sensei for a few minutes before kneeling next to him to close his eyes.

"Sayonara, Sensei," whispered her father.

He stood and looked over at Misaki, Yin, Kanami and Riku. He walked up to Riku and smiled at her while he placed his hand on her shoulder. She returned the smile. Her father stepped away from her and approached her mother. He stopped a few centimeters from her, and then kissed her.

Riku's mom looked on shocked, but melted into it while wrapping her arms around him. They stood in silence for the longest time until Riku's father pushed her at arms length.

"Shall we go home?" he asked her.

"Hai," cried Riku's mother.

xxx

Saitou and Kouno stood near the dead body of a fifty-year old man lying in the grass in front of the Imperial Palace. The Tokyo CSI team checked the scenery, believing a major battle had happened, as the coroner checked on how the man had died. The guy who had gone with Kanami to the party had called Saitou about BK201 being active in this vicinity. They then got word of an explosion around the area and decided to check out the scene.

The owner of the vehicle was screaming at the detective about who would pay for replacing his van.

"As I had told someone else a while ago, that's what insurance is for, sir," said the detective.

"Looks like we just missed BK201 again," muttered Kouno.

"Hai," replied Saitou. "I just hope that Misaki-san is all right."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about her since she's got the Black Reaper protecting her."

"Li being the Black Reaper is what makes me worried. Everybody will be after them; including the Commander."

Xxx

The Syndicate sat in their conference room with Hourai and Dr. Schrader sitting across from each other. Schrader's hair had grown slightly and he looked a little pale from being in captivity. Hourai had found the time to trim his beard and comb his hair to make his appearance presentable.

Ken was glaring devilishly at future Mito.

"It looks like Sadou was a waste of time," he said.

"I'll admit he was," said future Mito, "but I'm pleased to hear that the Saturn System is almost done. Isn't that right, Dr. Schrader?"

"Hai, in a few days," said Schrader proudly.

"Good. Soon all the Contractors will be gone and we will have the sky back!"

"Don't get all happy, Mito," spoke up Hourai. "We still have to worry about BK201 and Kirihara Misaki. With those two together, it will be a difficult problem to stop them; including their daughter."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. I have all that already planned."

Hourai's right eyelid twitched and said, "What kind of plan? You do intend to kill her, right?"

Future Mito smiled at him devilishly.

xxx

Chibisaka walked around the Astronomy Division sweating bullets at trying to keep up with the situation going on around the country. Contractors were acting like some kind of thing in heat. He wished Kanami was still around, but due to her kidnapping she had been missing since. They knew she had been saved by BK201, and they tried locating her with the Dolls, but for some reason they couldn't find her. Chibisaka didn't know how long he could take it and wished his supervisors had put Hina in charge instead of him.

He walked out of the lab room to purchase a soda in order to quench his nerves. He fiddled for his money, dropping yen and scrambling to pick them up, and placed them into the machine slot to get his drink. Chibisaka returned to have Hina running up to him looking petrified, which made him clinch his butt cheeks so he wouldn't stain his drawers.

"Chibi, I got some terrible news," she said.

"What, I'm doing a bad job and the Supervisors want you to take over?" he asked, praying it was true.

Hina blinked at him baffled, but then shrugged it off and said, "No, it's a star that had died nine months back. It has appeared again."

xxx

In a hotel room with the view of Tokyo Tower in sight, Brita stared out it knowing the time for the next battle was drawing near. She began to wonder if the Saturn System was going to work without the Solar Flare from the sun.

A woman with long hair roamed around the darkened portion of the room. She had an hourglass figure that would make a grown man drool, and crawl on his arms and legs to have. She picked up an apple and took a bite out of it.

"I still don't like this," said Brita.

"Everything will be all right, Brita," the figured woman replied.

"And what about Hei? Isn't he going to…?"

"Please don't be concerned about that. I will take care of it."

"All right, but I hope you are right about this."

The figured woman walked over to where a table sat illuminated. She set the apple down with the light shining on where she had bitten into, and bent over to reveal her hair was green and her eyes orange.

"I am," replied Amber smiling.


	23. Chapter 23

Darker than Black

Chapter twenty-three: Invade on Pandora

Riku sat on the side railing outside the apartment in the cold night. Tomorrow was the day her father was going to die. She had decided, in order to save his life, she wouldn't tell him that the Syndicate was planning the annihilations of Contractors. Riku knew it was wrong, but if he could avoid going to Hell's Gate, he would live.

There was a second option, but it was too risky in her mind.

She shook her head while placing her palms against her forehead. Even if she kept it quiet he would still find out somehow. Why else would he have gone there in the first place? She didn't know what to do to save him. Perhaps if she followed behind him she would be struck by Mito's bullet instead.

However, her father would be devastated if she did that. Riku was at a loss on how to alter history in the best way, even though it had already been changed from its previous course.

Tears began to shed from her eyes, as she remembered the truth of her own timeline. How could such a thing be true when it didn't make scientific sense?

A door opened behind her. She wiped away her tears and looked over her shoulder to see Kanami. Kanami was about to light a cigarette, but she stopped and gazed at Riku perplexed.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Hai," replied Riku. "Can't sleep?"

"No." Kanami walked up to Riku while lighting her cigarette. She leaned back on the railing and puffed out smoke. "You?"

"No."

"May I ask why?"

Kanami had always tried to get the truth out of her, even before her mother had died, and somehow she had succeeded. Riku didn't have any aunts or uncles, but Kanami and Saitou were the closes she had. It didn't bug her that Kanami had asked the question, but she couldn't tell her the truth.

"Eh, just this uneasy feeling I'm having in the pit of my stomach," she said, believing she really wasn't lying.

"Is that so?" said Kanami. "What's your relationship with Li?"

"My—my relationship?" Riku frowned. She waved her hands in front of her. "No—no relationship, I guarantee. "We—we just know each other from the Syndicate."

"Hm?" Kanami's eyes narrowed while glaring at Riku. "I don't believe you. I can tell you're lying. Misaki lied to me dozens of times, and for some reason, your facile expression is like hers."

Riku frowned as sweat poured down her cheek. The Kanami of her time had never said anything like that. Had her adopted aunt kept it quiet from her so that she wouldn't have tried to change her body language? No wonder she couldn't get away with things with her.

Suddenly, Kanami poked Riku's forehead. Riku blinked baffled and looked at Kanami who was smiling.

"Don't think too hard or your pretty face will get wrinkles real fast," she said. She looked away, closed her eyes, and sighed. "However you met Li-kun, it's between you and him. But," she gazed over at her while opening her left eye as a dagger, "if you in anyway come between Misaki and Li's relationship, you'll have to answer to me. Understood?"

"Hai," nodded Riku.

Kanami puffed out the last bit of her cigarette, dropped it to the ground, and extinguished it under her foot. She pushed away from the railing and headed back to the apartment room.

"Oh, and one more thing," she said. Riku craned her neck around, as Kanami stopped to look over her shoulder. "Please keep quiet to Li-kun about Misaki carrying his kid."

Riku blinked at her baffled. Had she figured out her mother's pregnancy on her own? No, her mother had told her; probably when Kanami went to buy her pack of smokes before Sadou had kidnapped her.

Her mother couldn't keep anything from Kanami.

"I promise," said Riku.

Unfortunately, her father already knew she was pregnant since he knew his time was ending.

Kanami smiled and walked into room 201. Riku gazed up at the sky; picking out her father's star, and stared at it for the rest of the night. She wanted to remember it as it was since it might not be there twenty-four hours from now.

xxx

Saitou and Kouno sat across from each other as they poured over their work in the late morning. Miyusu sat nearby scanning through some files on his computer while Ootsuka and Kunio wrote out reports of the events that had happened in the past few days. Yamato was leaning back in his chair in his office talking with someone on the phone.

Other workers were scrambling around doing errands and taking phone calls, most of them bogus Contractor spot-tings. A phone rang on Saitou's desk in which he answered it.

"Yuusuke Saitou desu," he said into the phone.

"_I wish to speak with Section-Chief Kirihara Misaki," _said a distorted voice.

"Section-Chief Kirihara was fired from the force. May I direct you to Officer Kakuri Miyusu instead?"

"What a mistake. She could have been the reason why we wouldn't have destroyed your building. Your department is corrupted, and the Evening Primrose will cleanse it."

"What did you say?"

A click sounded in his ear to let him know the unknown person had hung up. Saitou threw down the phone and shouted, "EVERYONE, GET OUT OF THE…"

The Foreign Affair's department exploded inwards from the walls, sending workers flying and being impaled by shrapnel, as their paper work scattered about, or perished in the flames. Ootsuka screamed out in fright, causing Kunio to shield her, and he was struck by a pen in his back. Kouno and Saitou were blown forward over their desk and rolled onto their backs.

Saitou's ears were ringing from the blast. He rolled onto his stomach and examined the damage. There were a few workers lying dead facing upwards, as others howled in a deaf filled room from cuts, bruises, gashes or loss of limps.

Kunio moved off Ootsuka. She checked his wound, as Yamato ran out of his office to observe the situation while calling for help on his cell phone. Miyusu ran over to check on Kouno. He breathed out a sigh of relief, and smiled at Saitou to see he was fine as well.

Workers from other floors filed into the office and began to check on other workers. As the medics were looking at Saitou, still unable to hear, he figured to himself that EPR was about to make their move.

xxx

Chibisaka, feeling awkward having to run the Astronomy Lab in Kanami's absence, miserably roamed around it checking the Dolls' status. He hoped she was all right and would hurry back here so all the pressure would lift off his shoulder.

"Oh my!" cried out Hina. "I'm getting calls that The Foreign Affairs was bombed!"

"Nani?" shouted everybody.

"Twinkle, twinkle, sparkle, sparkle," laughed Stargazer-sama. "Begin my children. Fight my children. Fall without regrets. Soon my precious child will fall. Heh, heh, heh. Fall and startle everybody. Everyone.

"Twinkle, twinkle, sparkle, sparkle."

"Starazer-sama… just spoke… again?" muttered Chibisaka. "Why does this have to happen on my watch?"

xxx

Riku had gotten her hands on a television from one of Hei's neighbors since he had bought a flat screen television. She was watching an Anime called Slayers with Yin, who was watching through her spectre, as Hei cooked dinner with Misaki's help. Kanami had stepped outside for a moment to smoke a cigarette.

Riku was laughing hysterically while Yin had a slight smile on her face from the program. Hei shook his head at her, but smiled at her joyous mood. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her while she grew up.

Suddenly, the local news appeared on the screen.

"NNNOOOO, THE BEST PART IS COMING UP!" shouted Riku at the television, as she threw her face on the screen and grabbed the sides.

"How would you know?" Misaki asked. "I thought this episode was brand new."

"Eh, well, the mangas," muttered Riku embarrassedly while she pulled away from the television and scratched the back of her head.

Misaki frowned at her, as she narrowed her eyes and said, "I think you've known Li for too long."

"Eh, how's that?" Riku asked.

"You scratch your head like he does."

"Really?" Riku asked, as her eyes widened slightly, but then she smiled. "I guess great people think and act alike."

Hei blushed at Riku's comment and mirrored her actions. Misaki sighed and shrugged it off, as she continued her work with him.

"_We are sorry for interrupting our current program, but an explosion has happened at the Police Headquarters on the Foreign Affair's level,"_ said the newscaster.

"What was that?" questioned Misaki shocked. "An explosion?"

Riku's eyes widened at the news, as her body trembled. Fear was embedding from her pupils, telling Hei that his final battle was approaching. His heart ached, as it pounded heavily against his chest.

Kanami burst into the room looking terrified, as she glared at the television to hear what had happened.

"Nina, turn it up," she said.

Riku snapped out of her trance, and did what was asked, as the newscaster went on.

"_Five were killed and many others are injured," _he said. _"We have tried to get in contact with the Commander, but he is refusing to speak with us. Once we learn more, we will get back to you."_

The station returned to its program, but Riku didn't care about it anymore, as she looked at Hei and Misaki. Misaki grabbed a disposable phone she had picked up and dialed a number. She waited impatiently for an answer, but there wasn't one.

"Damn it! I can't get a hold of Saitou," she said frustrated. "I hope everybody is all right. Who would do such a thing?" she said to herself, as she crossed her arms, and placed her left index finger to her lips to think.

"EPR," replied Riku.

"EPR?" Misaki glared at her flabbergasted. "You think they have returned?"

She didn't think that since she probably had heard about it in her own time.

"Hai," nodded Riku. "It would explain why the Foreign Affairs was attacked since you proved the Syndicate has its claws on it."

"But not anymore since Yamato is a man who doesn't get pushed around," pointed out Kanami.

"Everybody has his or her pushing point, and I'm sure the Syndicate found his."

"And why would they make a move on the Foreign Affairs? Why not Pandora?"

"They are," pointed out Misaki before Riku could. "That was just a diversion. They're trying to get everyone's attention on one thing."

"Exactly," said Riku while snapping her fingers.

"But why?" Hei asked.

Everyone began to think except for Riku, as she hesitated on how to respond to his comment.

"I know why," she began her lie, which caused everyone to look at her. "When I was still with the Syndicate, I had heard rumors about a device that Dr. Schrader had built."

"Everybody knows about the Saturn System, Nina," pointed out Kanami.

"No, not that, but another machine. This machine could absorb the solar flare they need to use on the Saturn System."

"Eh? That's not possible?" Kanami questioned, as her body shivered in fear.

"I believe it is."

"No way, that can't be true. The Syndicate must have been deceiving you somehow. They're only lying since there can't be a possible way to do such a monstrous thing."

The room stood in silence while Misaki and Hei thought on the situation, as the television started making an annoying laugh from the program. Hei looked at her to see if she was pulling their chain or second-guessing the Syndicate's purpose. She held her composure and looked into his eyes, as her mother had done countless times to her.

"I believe what Nina says," said Hei.

"Nani?" Kanami asked hysterically. She looked over at her friend. "Misaki, you don't believe this, do you?"

Misaki continued to ponder on the discussion. After a minute had past she nodded while saying, "Hai."

"Misaki?" Kanami muttered.

"Whatever the matter is, we still have to deal with it," stated Hei.

"Wait, you can't!" shouted Riku. "You'll die!"

Misaki's head whipped around to glare at Riku with narrowed eyes.

"D—die? Na…?" Misaki stuttered. "What makes you think he's going to die?"

Riku averted her eyes as she worked her mouth to say something. She must have been kicking herself for not thinking before speaking. Hei walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder to relax her thought.

"I won't die," he said.

"But…" Riku babbled in anguish.

"I'll be fine."

"You swear you'll keep your promise you made to me!"

Misaki's eyes slanted, as she looked back and forth at Hei and Riku, and asked, "Wha— what promise?"

"To keep my nose clean, Misaki," said Hei, as he looked at her. "It's nothing to worry about." Hei assured her while smiling. "Nina is just as much concerned for my safety as you." He stared back at Riku. "I'll be fine."

"Then I'm coming to make sure of it," stated Riku.

"All right."

Misaki looked a little frantic, believing Hei had lied to her again, and figuring that there was something up with him and Riku. Her feature also stated that she didn't want to be left on the sidelines.

"I'm coming with you two as well," spoke up Misaki.

Riku rounded on her and shouted, "No, you can't!"

"Do you think I will lay here waiting for Li to come home safely? I want to be with him as much as you do!"

Riku opened her mouth to protest, but stopped as Hei tightened his grip on her shoulder.

"It'll be all right," assured Hei. "Yin, keep a close watch on us."

"Hai," nodded Yin.

Kanami looked at them baffled, and then smiled sheepishly while saying, "Eh, y'all don't mind if I stay with Yin?"

xxx

Yamato sat in a secured room with his team, except Kunio since he had to be rushed to the hospital. Saitou had told his comrades of the call he had gotten and waited for Yamato to speak on the matter.

"If Kirihara was still present?" questioned Yamato. "The person was probably lying since he or she is a Contractor, or figured she was a stronghold on this department since she had arrested Hourai. Do we know who did this?"

"They said… they were… EPR," replied Ootsuka still shaken up.

"EPR? Are you serious? Why them?"

"We—we don't know."

Saitou's cell phone rang in which Yamato looked at him displeased, as he fished it out and looked at the caller ID to see it was an unknown number. He flipped it open and said, "Hello?"

"_Saitou, you're all right!" _said a feminine voice.

"Misaki-san, is that you?"

Yamato's eyes widened as everyone turned to face him.

"_Hai, how is everyone else?"_

Saitou told Misaki what had happened, who had been hurt and killed, and what they had guessed.

"_You guys think it's EPR like Nina?"_

"Nina? You mean that woman you're with thinks it was EPR too?"

"Hai. We're on our way to Hell's Gate."

"What? Misaki, no!"

"Don't worry, Saitou."

The phone went dead. Saitou looked up at his boss and told him of what they were doing.

"All right then, we will do the same thing," replied Yamato.

"Nani?" shouted everybody.

"Are you serious, sir?" Officer Kakuri asked.

"Hai," he nodded.

**Darker than Black**

Future Mito stood in the control room of Pandora with the other Syndicate members present, including Naoyasu. They watched the mayhem from earlier unfold at the Foreign Affairs on a flat screen television mounted to the wall. Men and women were screaming around in fright, as others lay hurt or dead.

The recording came to a halt from future Mito hitting the pause, and looked at everyone as he placed the remote down.

"As you saw, Saitou had gotten a call, looked shocked, and then an explosion," he said. "That call was from EPR. They are using that explosion as a distraction."

"You're sure?" asked younger Mito.

"Hai."

"Oh, come on!" shouted Ken. "For all we know it could be a terrorist group behind this."

"You forget who I am and where I'm from?" said future Mito, as he glared at Ken displeased. He looked over at Akira. "Are the men ready?"

"Hai," Akira replied.

"What about ML921?"

"He is ready to deal with BK201 and his friends, if you are right about that."

"Good. Today we end EPR and every Contractor present."

xxx

A Platoon of EPR made their way to the entrance of Hell's Gate. They were a few kilometers away when a grenade dropped and tumbled around their feet. A tall man looked down at it. He freaked out and ordered his men back, but it was too late as it exploded, scattering a few men backwards. The Contractors who weren't in the explosion began whipping fire, powerful wind, and other things in chaos to devour at the area where the grenade had come from. Stars started falling as the Syndicate's men began to open fire with their agents in pursuit to kill their combatants.

Brita stared at the screen in a windowless van far from the war zone displeased that her surprised attack was foiled. Amber had warned her not to do a frontal attack, stating that the Syndicate would be expecting it, but she thought she was being ignorant and went with the plan anyway.

"This is what I get for doubting your power, dear old friend," she muttered under her breath. "Begin phase two!"

"Hai," said someone at the controls, and repeated Brita's orders.

A few of her troops broke off to follow the next plan.

xxx

Hei, Misaki and Riku snuck into the subway where Wei and Hei had fought. Hei was wearing his black trench coat since Riku had demanded him to before they had left. They passed through the destroyed wall, and entered another part of the subway. Two trains still existed on opposite sides of the platform. Riku had said she had used this part of the subway to escape from the Syndicate, but Hei believed she had used it to save him in the future, and she was going to use this route to get them out.

They were about to ascend the dusty stairs, but Hei pushed Misaki and Riku out of the way, as a black hole engulfed where they had stood. Hei turned around to see ML921 was waiting for them on the platform in the shadows.

Riku pulled out her gun and shot at him only to get her bullet swallowed.

"She hasn't learned, has she?" Tsu questioned.

"Nina, stay out of this," demanded Hei.

"But…"

"No buts, young lady. Stay out of this!"

Riku stared at him baffled since it had been the first time he had raised his voice to reprimand her.

"Li, that was wrong to say that to her!" shouted Misaki unhappy with his attitude.

"It's all right, Misaki-san," replied Riku.

"No, it's not, Nina!"

"Misaki-san, please."

Misaki frowned at her, and then turned her attention to the two Contractors. Hei glared devilishly at ML921 who smiled with glee.

Hei threw one of his blades to have it swallowed up by a hole, and then whipped out his line under the hole to tangle it around Tsu's legs. Hei yanked on the cord to pull Tsu's feet out from underneath him in which he landed on his back. Hei pulled out another blade to stab it through Tsu's heart, but a black hole appeared over it, and then around the cord on his feet so it would snap and allow him to throw Hei over him.

Tsu pulled out one of his knives backhanded and swung it to connect with Hei's blade. Tsu swept at Hei's legs in which he hopped over it. While in the air, Hei arched his back to miss a roundhouse kick, and cartwheel kicked Tsu's chin. He somersaulted back a few paces to give him some room, and then looked over his shoulder at the train. Hei ran towards it and jumped on top of its roof with Tsu following.

"Trying to get me away from your friends?" Tsu guessed.

"No," replied Hei, as he and the train glowed blue.

Suddenly, it came to life and began running down the tracks.

"What's the point of this?" Tsu asked displeased.

Hei didn't respond and threw a blade in which Tsu swallowed along with a second blade. Tsu smiled, as he waved his index finger in a "no, no," gesture for doing the same thing twice. Hei ignored it as he quickly lay on his stomach to avoid the stop and go light. Unfortunately, part of his trench coat caught the corner of it and tore off. Tsu freaked out and performed a limbo act before being decapitated.

He frowned at Hei for the trick and threw one of his black holes at him. Hei jumped out of the way and began defending against Tsu's attack. He moved right and then whipped out his cable to connect to another stop and go light and swung down to crash through the glass window.

Tsu followed, as he placed his right hand in a black hole to swing into the car, and stared at Hei baffled.

"Are you making fun of me, especially not using your power against me, but instead on this stupid locomotive?" questioned Tsu irritated.

Hei didn't respond and continued his fight with Tsu who became even more irritated, which made him reckless with his moves. Hei laid punches and kicks on Tsu, as Tsu hit with a few as well. Tsu frowned and tried his hardest to catch Hei's limbs with his holes, but he was anticipating every move.

Hei noticed a still train at a closed station coming into view. He socked Tsu across the face, ran towards the back of the train to jump out the door, and hooked onto a stop and go light. He looked back to see the train smash into the other, and hopped off the tracks to lay on its side, as debris scattered everywhere in the station.

He lowered onto the ground and went to check on Tsu. He climbed into the train, broken glass cracking under his feet, and worked his way over the benches. He scanned the area to see if Tsu was dead, but there was no sign of him. Hei figured he must have been buried in the rubble, but then found his right foot stuck in a black hole. Tsu stepped from behind a crumbled metal piece to show he had a gash from his right cheek up to the middle of his forehead. His right eye was also gashed, showing he had lost it, and his left arm was broken.

"You used your ability from being thrown," guessed Hei.

"Stupid for you not to think that first, Hei," replied Tsu.

Tsu threw a knife in which Hei jerked his head right, and then had to side step another one. Hei went to look back at Tsu, but noticed his other foot was stuck. Tsu had turned the tables. Tsu smiled as he playfully flipped his knife continuously.

"I win!" he shouted, as he threw the knife from the tip of the blade at Hei's stomach.

Hei waited for the last second and lay backwards on the floor as the knife whizzed by. He called on his power to electrocute Tsu through the metal. Tsu lost control of his black hole on Hei as he screamed out in pain. Hei released his power and roll-jumped to his feet to looked at Tsu with concern.

"This doesn't have to end with either of us dying," gestured Hei.

Tsu clenched his teeth and cursed at him.

"So you figured I would use my power to save my life!" Tsu shouted. "You think you can mock me? I will be the number one Contractor, BK201!"

He charged at Hei. Hei closed his eyes, and kneeled to electrocute Tsu through the metal again, killing him.

"Sorry," said Hei to Tsu one last time, as he fell to the floor dead.

Hei stepped from the train and entered another one to ride it back to Misaki and Riku. He arrived moments later and hopped off the train. Misaki ran over to embrace him, as Riku smiled with glee to see him all right. Suddenly, her expression turned concern.

"What happened to your coat?" she asked.

"It got ripped off," replied Hei, knowing why Riku was freaking out.

Hei had to watch his back from this point on.

"Let's go," said Hei.

His daughter and Misaki nodded and followed him up the stairs.

xxx

The Director of the CIA sat in his office as he looked out onto the city of Tokyo. He watched explosions erupt near Hell's Gate and stars fall one-by-one. It seemed EPR had decided to make their move on Pandora and the Syndicate. John Jiggles was waiting for the President to call and give them the conformation to engage in battle.

The phone rang on his desk. He turned around in his chair, picked it up, and said, "Director Jiggles."

"_Director Jiggles, this is Secretary of Defense Kassandra Rose,"_ said a feminine voice. "_You are not to engage in the fight. You are to inform the Syndicate we have no backup units. Understood?"_

"Yes, Madam Secretary."

John Jiggles hung up the phone, turned around in his chair while lacing his fingers together, and watched the battle unfold. It seemed the President didn't want to get the United State's hands dirty anymore; at least not for the sake of the Syndicate.

xxx

Brita's second platoon headed through the abandoned subway. A woman wearing a green tight tank top and shorts with black hair tide back in a pony tale led the way. A muscular man with an orange bandanna, green tank top, and black pants followed in her tracks.

They stepped through the destroyed wall and walked down the abandon subway. One of the men with short blond hair tripped on a black coat that had been torn to shreds a quarter mile through the tunnel.

"BK201 was already here," said the bandana man.

"BK201?" questioned the blond-haired man.

"Don't worry, he should be long gone by now."

They continued their walk until they came up to the next station where two trains had been smashed up. They crawled up a latter, pushed a manhole aside, and stepped out onto a street. The platoon turned around to see the back entrance to Hell's Gate.

It was going to be interesting to see how things were going to unfold.


	24. Chapter 24

Darker than Black

A/N: I'm writing this note to inform the reader that the word, "mate," that Misaki will be saying later in this chapter means, "ma tay," meaning, "wait," in Japanese, and not mate. There was a part in the anime series where Misaki had said mate in a way to where it had this certain feeling for me, and I wanted to capture that feeling in this chapter.

I hope you all will enjoy this chapter since I loved writing it.

xxx

Chapter twenty-four: A Promise to Right Things that had Done Wrong

Riku led Misaki and Hei through the dusty and depleted subway and entered a dingy men's restroom. The walls were covered in slime and the urinals were corroded and cracked. Riku entered a stall and popped loose a vent.

"If you had escaped through there, wouldn't it be already opened?" Misaki asked.

"Maybe someone fixed it?" Riku lied.

"Fixed? Why would somebody bother coming down here to fix such a trivial thing?"

Riku shrugged and climbed into the vent. Misaki sighed and entered the confined space with Hei following. They crawled through thick layers of dust, kicking it up to where Misaki tried covering her nose so she wouldn't inhale it. A little ways in their filthy trek the vent angled forty-five degrees. They found it hard to climb courtesy of the dust and slipped occasionally.

A few minutes later the dust diminished and the vent straightened. The trio came up to another vent in which Riku kicked it open to have it clank on the ground below them.

"Do you have to make so much noise?" Misaki asked.

"Sorry," replied Riku.

She jumped down through the vent with Misaki and Hei following to find themselves in a spotless men's bathroom.

"Japanese engineers try and not demolish old buildings, right?" began Riku. "So they built Hell's Gate on top of the subway and connected it to some of the vents for air in the tunnels."

"Why?" Misaki asked.

"Have no idea. They probably thought it best for some reason. Anyway, we're on the bottom floor."

"Yin," spoke up Hei into his earpiece.

"_Clear, Hei," _said Yin.

They exited the bathroom and headed down the long and brightly lit hallway, as they kept a look out for any guards. Things were quiet, which didn't feel right for Hei, and it put him on edge.

"_Eh? It's a trap!" _shouted Yin.

Pandora men poured around the corners in front and behind the trio and opened fire. Hei, Misaki and Riku took cover around the right side corner, as bullets pummeled the walls. Misaki and Riku pointed their guns around opposite corners and started shooting.

"Yin, anymore around where we are?" Hei asked.

"_No,_" replied Yin. "_Wait? Move Misaki away from the wall!"_

Hei went to do what was asked, but he was too late as someone's hand reached through the wall, and wrapped his or her arm around Misaki's neck. Misaki freaked out, dropping her gun to fight against the person, but she couldn't free herself, as she was pulled back into the wall. Hei reached out to grab her, but his fingers missed hers by centimeters.

"Misaki!" shouted Hei at the wall, hoping to hear her voice.

"Misaki-san!" shouted Riku, scared for her mother.

Riku cursed and fired a shot at one of the Pandora men to put a bullet between his eyes. She aimed her gun at another guard and fired to strike him in the chest.

"We have to find her, Otosan," said Riku, as she fired a third shot to kill another guard.

Hei threw a knife with his cable attached to it, struck a Pandora man in the arm, and swung it like a jump rope to lasso the other men nearby to electrocute them.

"No, you have to, Riku," stated Hei. "I'll go and take care of the Saturn System."

Riku fired a fourth shot to hit a Pandora man in the shoulder, and fired another one at a man behind her former target. "No, I won't leave you," stated Riku. "I won't let you die!"

Hei threw another knife to impale the last Pandora man in the heart.

"I'll be fine," he stated.

"Otosan!"

"No arguments, Riku. If your mom dies, so do you. And I couldn't live with that."

Riku stared at him displeased. She then ran over to hug him and said, "I love you, Otosan."

Hei smiled as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I love you too," he replied.

He pushed her away to see a tear had escaped her eye. He gestured for her to go in which she nodded. Riku picked up her mother's gun, slid it in the back of her pants, and ran down the hallway they were standing in. Hei continued forward while he believed he had spoken his last words to his daughter.

xxx

Future Mito smiled at the screen from the battle they were winning against the Contractors outside of Hell's Gate. The other Syndicate Higher ups, except Mito who was helping Hourai with his plan, stood next to him, as Dr. Schrader and Kirihara Naoyasu sat on a couch nearby watching the show as well.

The last time this had happened the Syndicate was struggling from EPR's surprise attack, but not this time. A phone on a desk rang. Future Mito hit the speaker button and said, "What is it?"

"_Sir, we have a problem_," said a man at a control unit. "_The Americans aren't going to give us a hand_."

"What?" questioned Akira.

"Don't worry about them, I knew to begin with they would say no," said future Mito.

"Why are you waiting to tell us now?" Ken asked furiously.

"It must have slipped my mind. We'll be fine."

They continued to watch the destruction unfold before them. He smiled devilishly at the Contractor stars dropping like flies from the sky.

xxx

Yamato and Miyusu sat in the back seat of Saitou's car, as Saitou drove recklessly towards Hells Gate with Kouno in the passenger seat.

Saitou moved his car to the right side of the road, as a huge whole opened up on it. He forced his vehicle back to the other side from baseballs flying at them and exploding. Everybody took cover when something kind of like gunfire pummeled the car's hood and windshield. Miyusu bravely stuck his head out the window holding a rifle, and opened fire to kill half a dozen Contractors.

Saitou's hands gripped the steering wheel, knowing now they were in the cross fire with Pandora and EPR. He whipped his car to the right and then screeched to the left to avoid fire from Pandora and drove around armored vehicles.

A Pandora soldier pulled out a bazooka, freaking out Saitou and Kouno, and fired it to make Saitou turn the car hard right and barely miss the explosion. The Pandora soldier reloaded his bazooka, but before he could fire it, Yamato shot him in the chest. They drove by as the soldier uncontrollably shot the bazooka upwards, and then came down to erupt on him and his squadron.

They zipped by Pandora's strong hold, forcing them to continue firing at their rear. The back window shattered to have Yamato and Miyusu cringe from the glass.

An M-16 fired at them from the gate, tearing up the front of the car, and causing steam to pour out from under the hood. Saitou narrowed his eyes to try to see better, as he and his passengers lowered themselves in their chairs to avoid being shot.

"This is crazy, Commander!" shouted Saitou.

"Just keep driving until we get in!" replied Yamato

"What if we die?" questioned Kouno.

"Then we haunt them!"

"You want to fight them even in death, sir?" Saitou asked skeptical.

"Hai."

Saitou shrugged off the uneasiness he felt and crashed through the front gate to make the guards jump out of the way. His car raced up the ramp, drifted around a corner onto the bridge—his passengers braced against the G-force—and then he gassed his engine to head for the front entrance while it rumbled, as though it were going to explode.

Unexpectedly, the doors were closing. Saitou crossed his fingers on the steering wheel, as Kouno clenched his teeth and pressed his left hand up on the ceiling for support.

Saitou braced his body against an invisible wall, and blazed through the opening. His side mirrors were ripped off, and the sides of his car were scratched from front to end. He slammed on the brakes to skid the vehicle to a stop. The car began to clutter and clank and then stalled.

Saitou began to breathe heavily; realizing his palms and forehead were dowsed in sweat.

"Too… close…" muttered Saitou to himself.

Kouno's face was white as BK201's mask. His head creaked slowly towards Saitou, as if he were a wooden toy, and said, "Don't do that again, Saitou."

"Enough of your crying, Kouno," demanded Yamato. "Let's get out so we can take care of the Syndicate."

"Hai," agreed Saito, Kouno and Miyusu.

Yamato and his team exited the vehicle, as the engine burst into flame. Saitou wondered how he was going to explain this one to his insurance company.

They charged into Hell's Gate.

Xxx

Brita's second platoon entered Hell's Gate and headed towards the Solar Absorber. They trotted down the corridor, turned a corner, and found themselves in a dire situation, as a Pandora squadron came into view.

The Pandora unit began to fire in which the Contractors retaliated.

EPR wiped out a few of Pandora's men, but they lost a few of their own. The pony-tailed woman glowed blue and shot a rubber band into a Pandora man's chest killing him. The bandana man highlighted in blue and telepathically snapped another Pandora soldier's neck.

"What is our mission exactly?" the blond-haired Contractor asked.

"To take out the Solar Absorber," said the bandana man.

"Why? If BK201 destroys the Saturn System, then why bother with that?"

"That's our orders from Brita," said the pony-tailed girl. "We follow them, or we let the Syndicate win and we die."

The Contractor shrugged and threw a stream of blue needle-like darts to kill a few Pandora men.

xxx

Misaki's kidnapper, who was a chubby man, was pulling her through walls, as if they were liquid, while he glowed blue. She fought with him to get free, but he held onto her tightly. As they stepped into another hallway, she kicked him in between the legs, which caused him to cry out in pain, and release his hold on her. Misaki followed up with a kick across his face.

She was about to run, but she froze in shock at the sight of her old commander standing before her. Hourai punched her across her face with a right hook, slanting her glasses, and then he socked her with a left to send her glasses across the hall. Misaki stumbled and fell on her hands and knees. Hourai's right leg swung towards her, making her fear he would hurt her unborn child, and moved sideways to avoid being kicked in the stomach.

Hourai grabbed her by the neck with his metallic hand, lifted her to her feet, and began choking her. She held what air she had as she prayed Li would save her like the last time. Misaki began to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen, and believed she was about to die with her unborn child.

"Put her down, Hourai!" shouted someone.

Hourai looked over his shoulder to stare at an old man standing near a corner.

"Why? What's the point of keeping her alive, Mito?" Hourai asked.

"_He_ has a proposition for her," said Mito.

"He's wasting his time on asking her. I know what she'll say."

"Even so, we follow his orders."

Hourai frowned and released her. Misaki coughed as she placed her hands on her neck, and took in a breath of fresh air. Hourai grabbed the back of her neck and guided her forward. The Contractor followed, walking bow-legged while whining in pain. He took out a lighter, flicked it to light it, and drew back his sleeve to reveal first and second-degree burns along his arm. He held the lighter under his arm and burned his skin.

Mito picked up Misaki's glasses and followed.

Moments later she was brought into a room. Mito gave Misaki back her glasses so she could put them on, and gazed around to see she was in the same room she had been in months ago. She was astounded it had been fixed to look as though Li hadn't demolished it.

A few men stood in front of the window looking at the control room. Dr. Schrader sat on a couch with his arms stretched out along the back of it. Misaki stared on shocked at the man next to him.

"Otosan?" she said.

Dr. Schrader and her father turned their heads towards her. Her father's eyes widened from shock.

"Misaki?" he questioned, and then rounded on his comrades. "Why have you brought my daughter here?"

"We were ordered to," replied a red-haired muscular man.

"By whose orders, Brian?"

"By mine, Naoyasu," said a man older than her father.

"By you, Mito? Why?" her father asked, as his eyes narrowed and his face reddened.

_Mito? _Misaki questioned. The other guy had been called Mito. Did they have the same first names? Suddenly Misaki noticed they looked alike.

"I have my reasons."

"Enough of your games!" shouted Misaki's dad. "You came back in time for a reason, and I know it has something to do with my daughter!"

"The… future?" questioned Misaki.

"It seems your father doesn't know when to shut his mouth," smiled future Mito at Misaki. "Hai, I am from the future."

"That… that's impossible."

"Would you have thought it possible for someone to have powers like Contractors?"

Misaki was startled by his words, but she held her composure in front of everyone and asked, "So why did you come back to this time? To kill Li and me because we are giving you a hard time in your time?"

"No, you and he are dead in my time," he replied. Misaki gasped. "With you and BK201 gone we were able to wipe out all Contractors and return the stars."

"Eh? You killed them all?" questioned Misaki.

"No, we just stripped them of their powers."

Misaki couldn't believe her ears. It couldn't be true. Contractors no longer existed in his time. Even if he was telling the truth something about his story didn't seem right.

"If we are dead and all this happened, then why try and kill us now?" Misaki asked.

Future Mito was quiet for a few seconds, as he glared at her, and then said, "Your daughter."

Misaki stared at future Mito startled, as her father looked over at him flabbergasted.

"My—my… daughter?" stuttered Misaki.

"Her daughter?" questioned Misaki's father. "By whom? Wait… not… BK201?"

"Hai," replied future Mito.

Her father glared at her angrily and said, "How could you let yourself get mixed up with a Contractor? How could you let a thing like that happen? You could be giving birth to the first Contractor ever born! Do you want that, Misaki?"

Misaki glared at her father with a stern look and said, "Hai. Contractors and humans can learn to live with each other, so why can't they have children?"

"Misaki!"

"Don't worry about your granddaughter being a Contractor," interrupted future Mito. "She is born a healthy human. You yourself, Naoyasu, adore her and you don't want her hurt."

"Bull, I'll never love that thing," said Naoyasu, as he turned to stare at future Mito.

"Oh, yes you will since she is somewhat like your daughter. She had taken over what Misaki had started and she has nearly brought us to justice." He turned his attention to Misaki. "I want to kill you so that I wouldn't have to worry about her, but now I figure I'd offer you a place next to us to please your father. I will even back off BK201."

He smiled at her.

Misaki glared into his eyes to see if he was lying. She was good at judging people. The only person who really had ever fooled her was Li. She could see doubt in his eyes, and she believed he was lying about something, but she wasn't sure.

Unfortunately, for future Mito her mind had been already made up.

"I refuse," she stated. "If I join you then I fear Li wouldn't forgive me, or my daughter."

Future Mito narrowed his eyes frustratingly at her, but settled down his emotions while sighing and said, "I didn't want to say this, but I guess I have no choice. I'd offer you a chance to be with us so you could spend more time with your daughter."

"Eh?" questioned Misaki.

"You had poured all your efforts into hunting us down instead of spending quality time with your daughter. You were never there for her and she hated you for it. When you died she didn't even cry.

"She even hated her father because of his reputation. She was always called Chibi Kuro no Shinegami in school, and many thought she would become the next Black Reaper. Your daughter despised you both."

Misaki let Mito's words linger in her mind about her daughter's hatred. It hurt Misaki dearly to know her own child would hate her for what she would do. She wondered what kind of pain her daughter must have been going through to not have her father around or her mother in her life to comfort her. It had pained Misaki when she had lost her mother, her best friend when she was a child, and figured her daughter never had that.

Misaki was pleased to know her daughter had hunted down the Syndicate and tried to end their terrain, but what struck her as odd was that her daughter had continued hers and Li's objective. Why would she do that if she hated Li and her?

Suddenly a thought crossed her mind and stared harshly at future Mito.

"I still refuse," replied Misaki.

Future Mito looked at her baffled.

"You would rather have…" he began.

"You're wrong. My daughter may have hated me for not spending time with her, and hated her father for his reputation, but she didn't hate us forever after I had died. If she did then she wouldn't have bothered continuing Li's and my work. It sounds like to me she is trying to right things that she had done wrong."

Her words startled herself as a memory clicked in her head.

"_I had made a promise to… to… o… oka…san… after she had died that I would undo the wrongs, and do the right things," _she remembered Nina saying.

Her mind flooded with memories of the events that had happened the past month. Misaki began piecing together questions with answers that shouldn't make sense. Unfortunately, in this time of age, it would.

_It can't be? _Misaki said to herself.

Having enough of the argument, Hourai pulled out his gun and pointed it at her head. Misaki tensed as she heard him click off the safety.

"No, don't!" shouted her father, as he stepped in front of Hourai.

"Stand aside or I'll shoot you too," Hourai warned.

"Then do it! I would gladly give up my life for my daughter. I have served the Syndicate because you had threatened to kill my daughter after Maya had turned into a Contractor, but you all continued to try to kill her. It ends here now!"

"Otosan?" said Misaki surprised.

Hourai glared at him and said, "So be it."

"Hourai, stop, or I will have you killed!" shouted future Mito. Hourai glanced over his shoulder at him. "She and her father shall live long enough to see the Contractors wiped out."

"What?" questioned Naoyasu.

Hourai smiled and pulled the gun away from them. Two Pandora men grabbed Misaki and her father and held their arms behind their backs.

A phone on a desk rang. Future Mito walked over to it, hit the speaker button, and said, "What is it?"

"_Sir, we have intruders,"_ said a man's voice.

"I know about BK201 and his comrades! We have one of them right now."

"_Not them, sir. EPR. They snuck in from inside the Gate. They are heading towards the Solar Absorber."_

"What?"

"What's the big deal?" Ken asked. "You knew that would happen, right?"

"No, EPR never did that before. They must have had a back-up plan I didn't know about. Are you ready to begin the countdown?" He asked in the speaker.

"_Hai, we're ready, sir._"

"Will they make it?"

"_No, sir."_

"Yosh, begin the countdown."

"No, don't do this!" pleaded Misaki.

Future Mito ignored her, as he and the rest of the Syndicate turned to face the control room. Men below them began working frantically while they readied the system. One man gave a thumbs-up.

They displayed the crater in Hell's Gate on the screen.

"_Count down_," said another man at the controls, his voice echoing throughout Hell's Gate. "_In five… four… three… two… one… zero…_"

The place started to shake under their feet. Misaki braced herself for the worse as she imagined all the Contractors being wiped out. Suddenly, the rumbling settled. Everyone stared at the crater wondering if something had happened, but there was no sign if anything did.

"Tsk, show us the Solar Absorber!" ordered future Mito.

The control room obligated. Seeing nothing wrong, he demanded a view of the Saturn System. They clicked it over to see BK201 standing on the system glowing blue. He whipped out his cable and then flung off.

Misaki let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Not again!" shouted Hourai and pointed his gun at Misaki. "DIE!"

Misaki's father stepped on his guard's foot and freed himself to jump in front of his daughter, as Hourai's gun went off. He was struck in the shoulder, causing him to cringe from the pain, and fell on his side.

"OTOSAN!" shouted Misaki.

Hourai frowned and aimed his gun at her father.

"Foolish old man," barked Hourai.

Misaki fought with her guard, but he had a good hold on her. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him.

Suddenly, the entrance to the control room burst open with Nina rushing in and shooting Hourai in his metallic arm. Misaki's guard tried to take a shot at her, but she was too quick and put a bullet in his chest. He fell backwards while letting go of Misaki.

Nina tossed Misaki her gun in which she pointed it at Hourai to see him retreating with the other Syndicate members towards a hidden door. Misaki and Nina fired, but they only struck the wall, as the Syndicate members shut the door. Nina ran over and pounded on the hidden access, but it wouldn't give. Misaki kneeled next to her father.

"Otosan, are you all right?" Misaki asked.

"Hai," nodded her father, as he pressed hard on his wound. "Get going. I'll be fine."

"Not without you, Otosan."

"Misaki, do it! Get as far away from here!"

"No, not before we find Hei-san!" stated Nina.

Misaki looked up to stare into Nina's eyes, not believing what her heart was telling her.

"No!" shouted Misaki's father. "Get my daughter out of here!"

"We're finding Hei-san first since he needs our help!"

"I don't care about that man! I only care about my daughter!"

"Otosan, stop!" shouted Misaki, as she looked back at him.

"Misaki!"

"I'm going with her to find the man I love."

"I forbid it!" ordered Misaki's father.

"You can't stop her you old worthless fart!" shouted Nina.

Misaki turned to face the woman with a displeased look on her face. She wanted to reprimand her for her inappropriate choice of words, but she instead looked back at her father.

"Otosan, I'm not a little girl anymore. I can take care of myself."

Her father glared up at her displeased, and then sighed as he nodded his agreement. He looked past her to stare at Nina. His eyes widened in shock at her appearance.

"You…?" he questioned. Her father narrowed his eyes and said, "You better watch her back!"

"Hai," replied Nina.

Misaki stood and looked at Nina to say, "Lets go!"

They stormed out of the room, leaving Misaki's father behind.

xxx

Yamato and his team had split up and headed down different ways. Yamato knew whom he was going after, as he knew whom Miyusu would take out. He hadn't hired Miyusu because of his smarts, but because he knew he would do what was asked without questions.

Yamato didn't like it when Mito walked into his office the other day and demanded they let the fake police officer go. He was also displeased to hear the fake cop had been killed, and knew who, or better yet, what group was behind his death.

A Pandora soldier exited a room, aimed his rifle at Yamato, and fired. Yamato rolled out of the fire lane and shot the man in the chest.

"Tsk, rookie," muttered Yamato.

The Syndicate had pushed and shoved to get what they wanted, but things were about to change for them, and he and Miyusu would make sure of it.

xxx

Dr. Schrader ran through the halls looking over his shoulder. He was trying to get away from one man that was chasing him due to his continued failure. Dr. Schrader ran his fastest, ignoring his lungs for him to stop and catch a breath, or his heart pounding faster than it should.

A gun fired in which a bullet struck Dr. Schrader's lower right leg to trip up him and fall onto the floor. He gripped at his leg, screaming out in pain, and then heard a gun click. He turned around and looked up to see Hourai aiming his gun down at him.

"You have failed the Syndicate for the last time," said Hourai.

"No… no, no, no, no, no!" pleaded Dr. Schrader, waving his bloody hands in front of him. "I can fix this!"

"How, we used up the solar flare you absorbed. What can we possibly do now? Nothing but kill Contractors off one-by-one, and that'll take forever."

Hourai was about to pull the trigger but a shot whizzed over Dr. Schrader's head and struck Hourai's chest. Hourai looked on in horror, and then he fell backwards dead. Dr. Schrader turned to see Miyusu standing behind him with a gun in hand.

"Oh, thank you," said a relieved Schrader. "I can't thank you enough for saving my life." Miyusu walked over to Hourai's body, picked up the gun, and aimed it at Dr. Schrader, overwhelming him with fear. "What… what are you doing?"

"Putting an end to your experiments," stated Miyusu.

Dr. Schrader's skin tensed like a cat's fur.

"Wait… wait, wait," he babbled. "If you do this, the police will match the bullet in Hourai to your gun, and you will be locked up for manslaughter."

"Baka. Do you think I would be that stupid to use my own gun? This is someone else's gun, not mine. The police will believe you got your hands on a gun to defend yourself, but you both shot each other."

"Please, don't. I beg of you!"

Miyusu ignored his plea and shot Schrader in the head.

Miyusu wiped down the gun and placed it back where Hourai had dropped it. He then wiped the other gun and set it in Schrader's hand.

Xxx

Misaki and Nina fought their way through the different levels in order to reach Hei. They had to duck around a corner as Pandora men surrounded them. Misaki and Nina took turns shooting to keep them off guard. Suddenly, the Pandora men were killed by a shock wave.

Nina looked around the corner to see a man in glasses, surprising her. He smiled at Nina and sent a wave at her. She pushed Misaki to the floor, as the breeze ripped through the wall and over their heads. Nina whipped her gun around at the person but he was gone.

"Okina!" yelled Nina, and then cursed under her breath. She stood, helped Misaki to her feet, and said, "You need to get to Hei-san. You need to find him and stop Mito from shooting him in the back!"

Misaki stared at Nina lost for words. To hear her say that petrified her. She wanted to say something to her, but a cat had caught her tongue.

Nina hugged Misaki, surprising her, and then she turned to run after the Contractor. Misaki watched Nina depart as her heart ached, and uncontrollably she yelled out, "Mate… RIKU!"

She stopped as her body tensed from Misaki's cry. After a few seconds of silence she turned around smiling and said, "The one you call Riku isn't born yet… Okasan."

Misaki stared trembling with emotions. She had been right about Nina. She was proud at how brave her daughter was, and she was pleased to know she didn't hold a grudge against her or Li.

Riku looked away from Misaki and ran off to disappear around the corner. Misaki followed but found she was gone.

Riku checked around corners as she looked for her commander. She had lied about being sent back in time with Okina and Mito. Amber had brought her back to this time. She had hated lying to her father about the truth.

She began to walk down a corridor with a fire hose to her right and an electrical box to the left. She scanned the area to see it was empty.

Without warning, Riku rolled out of the path of a shock wave and shot at where it had come from. Unfortunately, her bullet was stopped by another blast. Her commander rounded the corner while pushing up on his glasses.

"Detective Kirihara Riku," he spoke. "I'm appalled you would shoot at me."

"Are you really, Commander Kawakawa Okina?"

"Not really." Her commander replied with a smirk. "So how'd you come back to this time?"

"Help from a friend. Why'd you decide to come back?"

"I wanted to regain my power that was stolen from me and kill the Syndicate to stop them from taking Contractor powers away."

"Aren't you helping the Syndicate?"

"I'm a Contractor!"

"So why try and kill my mom and me?"

"So I can go back to our time with bragging rights that I had killed you. Moreover, so I wouldn't have to worry about you there."

Riku frowned while clenching her teeth. A certain someone from her time had said that she could take on a Contractor alone, and now she was going to get the chance at it.

xxx

Swarms of Pandora men fired at Hei, as he dodged while running at a few others to stab them with his knife. A click sounded behind him, which made Hei run up a wall to avoid the gunshots and kick the Pandora man. He then flung his cable to impale it in the ceiling and swung out of the way as two Pandora men fired and killed each other.

Hei wrapped his cable around the last few men and called on his power to finish them off.

"Yin, where's my daughter and Misaki?" Hei asked.

"_Nina is fighting someone," _replied Yin, having to refer to Riku as her cover name with Kanami around her, "_and Misaki is a level below you."_

"What? Why aren't they together?"

"_Nina needed to take care of an old colleague."_

"Okina?"

"_Hai_."

"All right. Keep me up to date concerning Riku."

Hei rushed down the hallway and went to go look for Misaki. He burst into the stairwell, ran down a level, and stormed through the door to look around.

"Which way to Misaki?" Hei asked.

"_Your right,_" replied Yin.

Hei followed Yin's lead.

"_Hei, behind you!" _shouted Yin.

Hei jumped out of the way, as a gun fired and a bullet whizzed right by his left arm. Hei looked over his shoulder to see Mito standing next to the wall with someone. He believed the other person was the Contractor who had kidnapped Misaki, and guessed that he had helped Mito sneak through the walls to get the drop on him. Another gun was fired behind Hei, which knocked the gun out of Mito's hand. A third shot was fired and it struck the Contractor in his shoulder. He cursed while retreating through the wall, causing Mito to freak out and run off around the corner.

Hei turned around to see that Misaki had fired the shots. He ran over to embrace her. Hei had kept his promise to Riku and he was going to see her grow up. The thought pleased him, as he held the woman he was in love with.

She pushed away from him, looked into his blue eyes, and said with ease, "You're all right."

"Hai," he replied.

"I was so worried; the way she was speaking, I feared that…"

Suddenly, a gunshot went off. Hei's back arched, as he clenched his teeth in fright. A light glowed behind him, causing him to turn around and see a bright figure standing between him and future Mito who was standing near the door.

Future Mito looked on in shock, and shot again.

Misaki screamed out in horror, as she grabbed Li who fell forward into her arms while the whole room was engulfed in the light.

xxx

Saitou and Kouno were fighting off a group of Pandora men. They had taken shelter behind a metal door on opposite sides taking pop shots.

"This was stupid, Saitou!" shouted Kouno. "How the heck are we supposed to get out of this mess?"

"How would I know?" replied Saitou. "You're the smart one between us two, you figure it out!"

"At least you admitted it!"

Suddenly, a rubber band shot through three Pandora men's head, and then the other ones had their necks broken. Saitou and Kouno looked around to see a group of Contractors run by.

"What about them?" a blonde-haired Contractor asked, as he gestured towards Saitou and Kouno.

"We were told only to take out Pandora soldiers and Syndicate Contractors!" said a Contractor with a bandana.

They disappeared around a corner. Saitou and Kouno looked at each other dumbfounded.

"Did you see what I saw?" Kouno asked.

"I'm not sure what I saw," said Saitou.

Suddenly, they heard Misaki screaming and ran towards her cry. They turned a corner only to see a blinding light.


	25. Chapter 25

Darker than Black

Chapter Twenty-five: Alternate Time Line

Before the battle at Hell's Gate:

Amber stood at the window after Amagiri had left the room without noticing the egg she had slipped in his pocket. She knew he would be surprised at her action, but unfortunately, it wouldn't be enough to save him. War was a cruel and unforgivable thing.

An image of someone appeared in the window. Amber didn't turn to look at the person since she already knew whom it was. Instead she smiled and said, "Come for the meteor shard?"

"Yes, I have," said Amber's older self.

Amber turned to face herself and threw the shard at her. Older Amber grabbed it and looked down at the thing. Amber knew herself was thinking of how such a small thing could be so powerful, and that that thing was the only way Hei and Bai could see each other in Heaven's Gate.

Somehow Bai had found a way to connect her soul to Hei's body through Heaven's Gate. She wanted to save his life after the Jupiter System had gone crazy because of her, and to be with him.

"Are we sure we want to save Hei's kid as well?" asked her older self. "If things go right, it wouldn't matter?"

"It does since she will help Hei," replied Amber. "You must also give her the shard and tell her to slip it into Officer Kirihara's pocket."

"Why is that?"

"It's the only way to save Hei from getting shot by Mito."

"All right, I shall return in just a moment."

"I'll be waiting."

Twenty-six years into the Future and a Month after Hei's Disappearance:

Riku was chasing Mito and her former commander, Okina, with Nina and Miko trailing far behind. Mito and Okina whipped around a corner, which she followed, and saw them entering an abandon storage facility. She burst through it to see a stack of crates gathered around. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light behind the crates, which made her round them only to see a machine running.

Suddenly, she felt as if the world had stop along with her. The next thing she knew, Amber appeared before her. Riku also noticed everything seemed to be a grayish color and Amber and she gave off a gold glow.

"What's… what's going on?" Riku asked.

"I'm sending you back in time," said Amber. She held out her hand and opened her palm to show the meteor shard, causing Riku to stare at it flabbergasted. "I need you to place the shard in your mother's coat pocket while your parents are storming Pandora."

"My… my mother?" Riku stuttered. Amber wanted her to go back in time and meet her mother's past self! "Why?"

"It's the only way to save Hei," said Amber. "The Mito of your time will be giving the final shot on him."

"Nani? The Mito of my time went back in time! When?"

Amber turned around, pointed at the machine, and said, "That's a duplicate of the American's time machine. Mito and Okina had just used it to go back to your father's time."

"But shouldn't his attention be to stop me from being born? I mean, it was his past self that killed my dad."

"That's his attentions now, Riku, but his first attention was to finish what he wasn't able to do."

Riku looked at Amber perplexed.

"I don't get what you're saying," she said.

"The past Mito tried killing your father, but he missed. The Mito of this time wanted to correct that mistake, so when he found out the American's machine worked; he went back in time and killed your father."

Riku stared at her bewildered.

"Are you…? Are you telling me that my father should had never been killed that day? Are you telling me, all this time, I've been living in an alternate world?"

"Hai," nodded Amber.

"All this time I could have been growing up with a father?"

"Riku, even though your father was still alive, you still hated him since you were three. You spent most of your time getting into fights to make yourself stronger. You could even take on a Contractor one-on-one."

"That's not possible? Me, take on a Contractor alone?"

"You have the talent and you have shown it. How else were you able to capture your father?

"After your mother was shot ten years ago you blamed him for it since he was the one that had gotten the lead on the Syndicate."

"Nani? Otosan got the lead, not Saitou-san?"

"Hai."

"And she still ended up getting killed! Even though he lived she died?"

"No, she lived since your father saved her from the final and deadly shot, but your anger got the best of you.

"I've spent too much time on my obeisance. I need to send you back in time."

Amber gave the stone to Riku, placed her hand on her shoulder, and took her back twenty-six years.

Present:

"Sparkle, sparkle, twinkle, twinkle," muttered Stargazer. "My little stars, fall randomly like you had nine months ago. Heh, heh. Soon my precious little star will plummet. Everybody, humans, Contractors and Dolls, watch in amazement. Heh, heh."

Chibisaka watched on in shock next to Hina. She was still blabbering about her favorite star, but which one was it? It couldn't be BK201, or was it?

"Hey, Chibisaka, I don't like how things are going," said Hina.

"Me neither," replied Chibisaka.

Brita's second platoon entered the lab where the Solar Absorber was. It was a huge ball held up by four thick layers of stilts with green narrow lights running around it. Circular cross catwalks ran around the device on three different levels with staircases running up and down it.

The pony-tailed woman's rubber bands punctured throughout the sphere, as the bandana man ripped the lights apart. The blonde-hair Contractor shot needle-sized nails at it to rip miniature holes in it while a gooseneck looking Contractor poured acid like rain down to eat at the metal.

Within seconds, the thing exploded. It tilted to lean on the catwalk to tear through it, and then it rolled onto the ground with a loud thump and crumbling into pieces while wires ripped apart.

The pony-tailed woman pulled out a walky-talky and said in it, "It's done."

"_Good work,"_ said a man on the other line. _"BK201 has taken care of the Saturn System. Time to get out of there."_

The pony-tailed woman put away the walky-talky and gestured for them to split. They exited the lab and ran down the corridor. More Pandora soldiers rounded a corner and fired, killing the blonde-haired Contractor. The remaining EPR platoon took shelter and returned fire.

The ponytail woman shot a rubber band through a soldier's heart, and then a second one through another guards head. The bandana man snapped a third solder's neck, and a fourth soldier's vertebra. The gooseneck looking Contractors created an acid rain storm on the remaining soldiers.

After they were dealt with, the Contractors continued down the hallways.

xxx

Riku dodged a vertical wave that sliced into the wall where she had been standing. She then rolled under another and fired off a shot. Kawakawa Okina flicked his right wrist to block the bullet and sent another wave at Riku.

She twisted around it, getting part of her shirt ripped at the waist, and fired another shot. Okina easily blocked it.

"I'm wondering something?" began Riku. "Why would the Syndicate allow you to join the Foreign Affairs since they would have known you were a former Contractor?"

"Because I was trustworthy," he replied. "I was always trustworthy. I never lied about anything after losing my power. I hated it and I tried to ignore my feelings, but it did no good. I had wished I had my powers still so I wouldn't have to react to my emotions, and when I had heard the Syndicate had built a time machine, I begged Mito to take me with him. Of course Mito didn't want to at first, but he thought he could use me in his little plan."

"So the whole thing about putting up guards around Hell's Gate when my father's star appeared was you trying to see if you could get your powers back?"

"Hai, and the Syndicate couldn't risk me being there so they made Yamato reinstate himself."

"They made him, how?" A thought crossed her mind. "They threatened to kill his family, didn't they?"

Okina smiled and continued to attack. Riku frowned as she dodged his ability.

xxx

Hei stood in Heaven's Gate looking up at the real stars shining above an orange hurricane-like eye. It had happened again. How was it possible without the meteor shard? Someone had to have had it, but who?

Hei saw future Mito run towards a time machine not far from him. He jumped in it and disappeared.

Hei noticed a lake at the corner of his right eye and began approaching it. He walked onto the shoreline where his telescope was, and as he was about to look into it, he stopped as someone behind him asked, "What are you doing, Onisan?"

Hei turned to see his little sister standing in the lake blinking slowly with her arms behind her back.

"Xing?" questioned Hei. "You're here. We can finally be a family again."

"No, we can't, Onisan. At least not yet."

Hei stared at her baffled.

"But I'm supposed to be dead, right?" Hei pointed out. "That means I am to be here with you."

"But you didn't die, Onisan. Only Mito did. Also, you have two people who love you dearly and need you…"

"But I have seen the future, Xing. I had died."

"The future hasn't been written yet, baka!" shouted someone else from behind. Hei turned to see it was Huang with everybody else: including Amber and Tsu. "After I had saved your butt nine months ago you want to throw it all away, especially since you're going to be a dad?"

"You had shown that Contractors can love, Hei," said Mao smiling. "It would be a shame not to rub it in the Syndicate's face."

"And you made a promise to Riku, Hei," said Amber, as she stepped before him. "You can't go back on a promise. Riku would dearly be hurt and she would have to deal with losing you a second time."

"Amber?" whispered Hei.

Amber stared into his eyes and drew her lips to his, but she stopped and stepped back smiling. She loved him, he knew that, and he loved her too, but she knew his heart belonged to another. How painful it must have been for her.

Before Hei could ask another question, he was engulfed in the bright light again, and then he found himself lying in Misaki's lap. Her lips were trembling, as her tears poured like waterfalls to drip onto Hei's left cheek and trickle down the side of his face to dampen Misaki's pants.

"Li!" cried Misaki while she caressed his cheek. "Don't leave me! Please. Not now. Not when I'm… I'm… I'm pregnant… with your child."

"Mi… Misaki…?" he muttered heavily.

"Li!" replied Misaki startled.

Hei sat up and looked around to see nobody else, and then noticed future Mito's clothes were the only things left.

"What happened?" Misaki asked.

"Xing," replied Hei.

"Your… your sister? But how?"

Hei didn't respond to her comment, but he instead took her in his arms. He didn't want anything else but Misaki. She embraced him tightly, as if to prevent him from slipping through her grasp.

Suddenly, he felt something in her coat pocket and took it out. To his surprise it was the meteor shard.

"What's that?" Misaki asked.

"The thing that helped Xing save me," replied Hei. "How did it get into your pocket?"

Misaki thought on his words, and then her eyes widened as something came to mind.

"Riku?" she muttered.

Hei looked at Misaki shocked. Had Riku told her? No, she had figured it out on her own somehow.

xxx

Saitou and Kouno found themselves somehow in a different hallway after being swallowed from the light. They ran down it, hoping to find Misaki and Li again, but they instead came across two guys running around a corner in front of them.

"Freeze, police!" shouted Saitou.

The two guys turned around and shot at them. Saitou and Kouno took cover around a corner and returned fire. They ducked behind the wall again, as bullets flew by, or struck the wall. Saitou peeked around and fired, but missed and hid his head from oncoming fire.

"I don't think those two idiots are going to give up, Ken?" said one of the guys.

"No, really, I haven't guessed that yet, Brian?" shouted the other guy.

"If you two give up we'll understand!" shouted Kouno.

"I don't think so," said the guy named Ken.

They continued firing. Saitou and Kouno snorted and took quick pop shots. Saitou flinched back, as a bullet grazed his right elbow.

"Saitou!" shouted Kouno.

"I'm fine," assured Saitou.

Suddenly, there was a plop sound. The two detectives looked around the corner to see the guys lying on the ground knocked out in front of a beautiful green-haired woman with orange eyes in a red and black jump suit.

"Don't move!" shouted Saitou, as he whipped around the corner, and pointed his gun at her.

"Sorry," replied the woman, and then she highlighted in blue.

"CONTRACTOR!" shouted Kouno and fired.

Suddenly, the room turned into a grayish color, as everything seemed to slow down. The next thing that happened was the woman disappearing and the room turning to normal.

"Wh… where… where'd she go?" Kouno asked, as he looked around.

"Maybe her power is to disappear?" questioned Saitou.

**Darker than Black**

Riku leaped over a wave and rolled into a kneeling position to fire off a few rounds that were batted aside. Okina flung two waves to make them twirl like fan blades. Riku had enough time to jump through the little open space, and having the bottom of her shoes sliced off. Riku looked back at them and breathed out a sign of relief.

"Too close," she muttered.

Okina sent another wave in which she rolled out of the way and kneeled while taking a shot. That too had been blocked.

"Give it up, Riku," Okina smirked. "You can't win. Just lay down your gun and I will make sure your death is painless."

"Commander," replied Riku, as she stared down her sights at him. "You are stupid to think I would give up on a fight since my father is the Black Reaper."

Okina laughed. "Pardon my rudeness of forgetting about whom your old man was, Chibi Kuro no Shinegami," he stated cruelly.

Riku stared at him with deadly eyes. She had told him the story about knocking her Senpai's teeth out after he had called her that. Okina figured he would throw that nickname into the mix and irritate her physically so he could easily kill her due to her anger.

Riku smirked which surprised Okina.

"I am proud to be the daughter of the Black Reaper," she stated.

Okina frowned and sent another wave at Riku. She dodged to the right and busted the emergency fire extinguisher glass. She pulled out the hose, turned it on, and sprayed Okina. He cursed as he swatted at the sudden gush of water. Riku turned it off and ran at her commander to fight him one-on-one. Since she was in close range he couldn't call on his power and use it on her.

Riku dropped under a swing and punched Okina in the kidney, and then struck him across the face. He stumbled and slammed into an electric box, causing it to bust and electrocute him. He screamed out in pain while shaking vigorously, and then fell forward dead.

"Sayonara, Commander Kawakawa Okina," said Riku.

She turned on her heels and ran down the halls hoping to find her parents alive.

Xxx

Akira busted through his door and ran over to his desk. He hit a switch to open a secret tunnel in the left hand corner of the room, grabbed a revolver out of his desk, and ran down the hall to escape from Hell's Gate.

Akira turned a corner to see a man pointing a nine-millimeter at him. The man fired and struck Akira in the upper right side of his chest. He stumbled backwards and tripped to fall on his bottom. Akira pressed his hand on the wound and stared up at Yamato angrily.

"How dare you!" he barked. "After the years we served together in Okinawa. Is this how you are going to treat your old partner?"

"My partner died the day he signed his soul over to the Syndicate," replied Yamato.

"And have you come here to kill me so I am officially dead?"

"No, I came to kill you so you wouldn't threaten me again, and so that nobody under my watch at the Foreign Affairs is hurt or killed again."

Akira snorted at him.

"Because of you and the Syndicate," continued Yamato, "EPR targeted us and killed five of my men. They had wives and kids. A dozen or more are injured, and it's all because of your regime. So I had come to help BK201 and Misaki end it."

"You do this and I'm sure Mito will kill your wife and son from your action!"

"That will be the last time you will threaten my family."

Akira raised his gun to shoot Yamato, but it only clanked. Yamato smiled as he raised his gun at Akira while saying, "I took the time to remove the bullets. You always forgot to check your ammo."

Yamato pulled the trigger and put a bullet between Akira's eyes.

Xxx

Young Mito and the Contractor ran through walls in hope of escaping the fiasco, and avoid the security checkpoint. They were drawing close to the parking garage when the Contractor was shot in his chest and killed. Mito looked around and saw Naoyasu nearby pointing a smoking gun at him.

Mito freaked out and ran down another corridor, as a bullet grazed the corner. He headed into the checkpoint and shoved workers and security out of his way. He bolted through a metal detector, setting it off, and stormed out into the garage. Mito hurried over to his car, which was parked four rows over, hopped into his car, and brought his engine to life to drive out of the lot. Suddenly, a figure in black dropped in front of him. He freaked out as he slammed on the brake to stare at BK201.

"Oh hell!" Mito shouted.

He put his car in reverse to get away, but Misaki was there pointing her gun.

"Out of the vehicle, Takeda Mito," demanded Misaki.

Mito looked back and forth at Misaki and BK201, wondering what he should do. Believing there was no way out of it; he threw the car into drive, and slammed on the gas to run over BK201. He smiled devilishly as he drew closer, but to his amazement BK201 jumped onto his hood at the last minute, placed his hand on it and glowed blue along with the car. Suddenly, the engine clanked, as if something broke, and then the car's brakes seem to come to life on its own, as the brake peddle slammed to the floor to stop the car. BK201 back-flipped off the hood from the momentum, and landed a few meters away. Smoke rose from under the hood, giving the Black Reaper an appearance that he had stepped out from the depths of hell.

"Get out of the car and put your hands up!" shouted Misaki.

Mito looked back at her while cursing and then stepped out of his car with his hands in the air. Misaki and BK201 walked up to him. BK201 whipped out his wire and tied it around Mito's wrist.

"You're under citizen arrest," stated Misaki.

Suddenly, Saitou and Kouno ran into the garage, scanning for the ruckus that had happened, and then spotted Misaki and BK201. They looked on surprised, but shook it away to aim their guns at BK201. Misaki jumped in front of BK201, causing Saitou and Kouno to stare at her baffled.

"Misaki-san, please step aside," said Saitou.

"No!" she said.

"Misaki-san!"

Riku bolted through an emergency exit while looking over her shoulder. She turned her attention towards the stand off, making her stare at the scene hysterically, as Kouno trained his gun on her.

"Drop the gun and put your hands up," he demanded.

Riku did what was ordered. Kouno cautiously walked over to her pulling out his cuffs from his coat.

"Kouno, no!" shouted Misaki. "Please don't. Just let her go!"

"Can't do that, Misaki!" said Kouno, as he stepped behind Riku. "It pains me to do this to such a beautiful woman."

He grabbed her right arm, pulled it behind her back while snapping his cuff on her wrist, and repeated his action with her left arm.

"Please, Kouno," Misaki begged. "She's—she's my… she's my daughter!"

"EH?" said Kouno and Saitou surprised.

"Misaki, are you on something?" Kouno asked. "There's no way she can be your daughter since she looks the same age!"

"It's… it's hard to explain," stuttered Misaki.

They stared at her, waiting for her to explain, but she couldn't find the right words to say.

"I'm from the future," said Riku.

"The… future?" questioned Kouno. "Don't be absurd. How can you be from the future? It is proven time travel is impossible."

"Anything is possible. It's possible for Contractors to exist, isn't it?"

Kouno opened his mouth to say something, but apparently a cat had caught his tongue. He frowned and said instead, "Doesn't matter anyways. We're still taking you and BK201 in."

"Saitou, Kouno!" yelled Misaki.

"Misaki, it'll be all right," said Hei.

"But, Li?"

"I don't want to run anymore."

"Okasan, we'll be all right," said Riku. "We'll get things settled."

Saitou cuffed Hei, as Yamato and Miyusu exited Hell's Gate. Yamato looked at them, and then smiled with glee.


	26. Chapter 26

Darker than Black

A/N: Only one more chapter left after this one. I will have the last one posted before the second season comes out in October.

Chapter 26: The Death of BK201

Misaki's heart pounded faster than a thousand drums beating at once, as she watched Miyusu interrogate Riku from behind a one-way mirror with Yamato standing next to her. She had been worried if her child would be born healthy, but now she was terrified that Yamato was going to throw Riku into one of his cells.

Yamato's arms were crossed and his jaw line was clenched tightly, as he kept his eyes narrowed on Riku. He wasn't pleased to hear the story about her, and he had called for a DNA test to prove it was a lie. Unfortunately for him, he was going to be disappointed with the results.

"Who are you?" Miyusu asked.

"Kirihara Riku."

"Kirihara Misaki's sister?"

"No, I'm her daughter."

"Impossible! How can you be her daughter when you two are about the same age?"

"I had already told you why!"

Miyusu laughed and said, "Don't try to pull that crap on me! You and I both know it isn't true!"

Riku frowned as she averted her eyes from him.

Misaki looked over at Yamato and said, "She's telling the truth, Yamato."

"You believe her?" Yamato asked, not looking at her.

"From what I've heard from her and being around her for the past few days: yes."

Yamato's right lip drooped.

The interrogation door opened with Ootsuka entering and walking over to hand Yamato an envelope. He opened it, pulled out a file, and read the DNA test result. He glared over at Ootsuka and asked, "Did you make sure they tested this twice?"

"Yes I did," she replied. "There's more. We took a sample of BK201's DNA, and his matches the other half of Riku's DNA."

She handed another file over to Yamato in which he looked at it and frowned. He then entered the interrogation room, gestured for Miyusu to leave, and sat in front of Riku as Miyusu exited. He threw the files down on the desk before her.

Riku's eyes drifted downwards at the files, and then back at Yamato. Yamato stared into hers, trying to make her blink, but she didn't flinch. He frowned, turned his attention to the file, and slid them over to Riku so that she could stare at them. Moments later she looked back at Yamato.

"Who are you really?" Yamato asked.

"Who am I?" Riku asked skeptical, as her right eyelid rose. "You have the evidence right in front of your eyes!"

"I have evidence that you have Misaki and BK201's DNA in you, but one of their parents could have had a night together, and that's how you have their DNA."

"That's too far fetched, and you know it," said Riku while frowning.

Yamato smirked and said, "So why are you here?"

Riku told the story about saving her parents from future Mito killing them.

"Don't you think that's a little too far fetched to believe?" he asked.

"How is that far fetched when you got an older Mito lying dead in your morgue?" pointed out Riku.

"That is what we call a failed attempt at cloning."

Riku rolled her eyes and threw her arms up in defeat, as she leaned back in her chair, and blared out, "You all know my mom has feelings for my dad."

"It's the thought of a Contractor having a kid."

"How is that hard to believe?" yelled Riku, as she glared at him while leaning against the table.

Yamato stared at her baffled. He then stood and walked around the room slowly to make Riku feel uncomfortable, but it wasn't working on her.

"What were your feelings towards BK201?" he asked.

Riku's eyes twitched.

"What _were _my feelings?" she questioned. Riku frowned, told him her story, and mentioned she loved him now.

"And what about your mom?"

"I had had the same feelings towards her, but I do love her with all my heart."

"And what do you think about humans living with Contractors?"

Riku blinked at the question and answered like she had to him in her time. Yamato stared at her flabbergasted, but then smiled at her.

"You seem to talk and think like Misaki," he said.

"Does that make you think I'm her daughter?" Riku asked.

"Far from it."

"You know, you are just like your old self! Obnoxious and thickheaded!"

"Excuse me?" said Yamato, as his voice rose. "You've got a lot of nerve calling me that. You're in a lot of trouble as it is! I'm placing you under arrest for breaking, entering and stealing a vehicle. I'm also going to charge you for running from the police: twice! I'll even throw in the charge for back mouthing me! You're going to rot in prison until your past self goes to Todai!"

"You're making a big mistake! I don't belong in this time!"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have come back!"

Riku frowned as she looked away. Yamato gestured for the cops nearby to take her to her cell. As they did Misaki burst through the door shouting, "No, you can't do this! Riku did all this to save Li and me! Would you just let things go and release her?"

"I refuse, and you best back off before I arrest you, Kirihara!" stated Yamato.

"I won't!"

Yamato grinded his teeth and then opened his mouth to speak.

"Okasan, I'll be fine," said Riku interrupting Yamato.

"Ri—Riku?"

Yamato glared at Riku, and then motioned for his men to escort her out. The cops complied, as Misaki glared devilishly at Yamato. He ignored it and left the room with Misaki following.

"What do you plan on doing with Li?" she asked.

"That's none of your concern," replied Yamato.

"It is my concern!"

"Kirihara," growled Yamato through clenched teeth. "I don't recall reinstating you to the Foreign Affairs. If you don't get out of my sight right now, I'll throw you in one of my jail cells."

Misaki cursed and turned to leave the Foreign Affairs. She entered the elevator, rode it down to the lobby, and exited it to see Kanami heading towards her with Yin by her side.

"It's not true, is it?" began Kanami while shaking her head. "Li has been arrested?"

"Yes, it is," replied Misaki.

"Yamato can't do this after what he had done. It's not right."

"I know, but there's nothing I can do about that."

"What about Nina? Is she also under arrest?"

Misaki sorrowfully gazed downwards from the excruciating feeling she was experiencing at the mention of her daughter.

"What's wrong, Misaki?" Kanami asked concerned.

"It's… Nina," muttered Misaki while looking back at Kanami. "She's—her name isn't Nina. It's Riku."

Kanami blinked stupidly at her friend and then said, "Why would she mention her real name? Is she trying to make a deal with Yamato and give him names in the Syndicate?"

"Ri—Riku… she—she never worked for the Syndicate. That was all a lie. She's… she's my daughter."

Kanami's eyes slanted peculiarly at her.

"Did you hit your head while you were running around Pandora?" she asked.

"It is true," spoke up Yin. "Hei met Riku in her time."

"In her time?" repeated Kanami, as she whipped her head to face Yin.

"Riku's from the future," finished Misaki.

Kanami gazed back at Misaki perplexed.

"What are you two on? I hope you didn't tell Yamato this story. I mean come on. When did Li-kun have the chance to travel to the future and meet Riku?"

"New Sano party," said Yin. "The machine in the basement was a time machine."

"And why would she bother to travel back here? To say hello?"

"To save Li and me so that she can be born," replied Misaki.

Kanami slanted her eyes while frowning.

xxx

Yamato entered the interrogation room where BK201 was being held. He sat in a rubber chair with rubber cuffs chained to the table. Yamato took a seat in front of him and crossed his arms.

"Has my daughter been released?" BK201 asked, his voice showing his concern.

"Far from it," replied Yamato.

"Why not?" BK201 frightfully asked, as he narrowed his eyes.

"You and those two broads are driving me crazy with all these questions when I'm the one who should be asking them. Your so-called daughter had done some pretty bad things and she's going to pay for them. But if I were you, I'd worry about my own future."

"You plan on sending me away for life?"

"Oh no," said Yamato, as he shook his head and his eyelids rose. "I've got other plans." He smiled, as his eyes widened like a mad scientist. "I intend to rid BK201 of this world."

Xxx

Two months had past since Riku and Li had been arrested. Misaki sat in a room with a few other people to witness the execution of BK201. She started showing signs in her pregnancy, which made it tough on her since Li couldn't experience the moments with her. Saitou, Kouno, Ootsuka, Kunio Kanami and Yin sat with her.

Yamato stood behind everybody with his arms crossed. She wished he wouldn't be here, but for some reason he had to show his face.

The drapes before them drew open to reveal Li strapped in a chair. Men in white suits were gathered in the room. One of them was holding a needle.

"Any last words?" the man with the needle asked Li.

"Hai," Li nodded. He looked towards Misaki smiling. "I love you, Misaki. I wish for only one thing from you after I'm gone. Please be there for our daughter, for the both of us."

Misaki's eyes began to water, but she held them back to be strong for Li. The man with the needle walked up to him and injected the serum into his bloodstream. Li kept his eyes on Misaki, which she did as well, until they closed. Misaki's tears poured down her cheeks and leaned on Saitou's chest for support.

Saitou wrapped his arms around her while he fought with his own emotions.

Chibisaka noticed the star falling and sighed. It had finally happened. He went to check on the charts and stared at it flabbergasted. How could this be? It didn't make since.

Someone walked up beside him and said, "To bad BK201 had to die."

"Eh, well you see…" he began to say, as he turned to face Section Chief Miyusu. "BK201's star…"

"Fell from the sky."

Chibisaka stared at him curiously and then noticed a gun pointing at him. He cringed in fright and said, "Ah, yeah, of course it fell since everybody knew it would."

"Right you are."

Miyusu put his gun away and exited the laboratory.

"Heh, heh," laughed Stargazer. Everybody turned to face her startled. "I can no longer predict what will happen. The first had messed around a lot with time. Heh, heh. Twinkle, twinkle, sparkle, sparkle."

"What the heck is going on?" questioned Hina.

Xxx

John Jiggles stared out the window to watch BK201's star fall from the sky. How magnificent it looked. Not only was he gone, but also the Syndicate. Now all the power shifted back to the CIA.

His door opened as Agent Hicks entered and asked, "Did you see it?"

"Yes I did," replied Jiggles. "Have you confirmed it with our lab in California?"

"Yes, they had informed us it was his star, as well as two other labs across the globe."

"Excellent. Is the President up and ready to speak on what to do next?"

"Yes he is, sir."

"Good. I'll be down in the conference room in a minute."

Agent Hicks nodded and left the room while closing the door. Jiggles smiled devilishly and thanked the Foreign Affairs for getting rid of a big nuisance.

_Darker than Black_

Misaki sat across from Riku who looked at her through a glass wall that separated them. Riku was wearing an orange jump suit and her hands cuffed. They were communicating through a phone, displeasing Misaki since she couldn't be next to her.

"I have been trying to get you out on bail, but the court keeps refusing my proposal," said Misaki to her daughter. "I won't give up though."

"What about otosan?" Riku asked.

Misaki's heart began to pound in agony at the image that was forever embedded in her mind, and averted her eyes from Riku. A tear ran down her cheek.

"They—they executed him yesterday," said Misaki.

"W—what, It's—it's not true!" shouted Riku.

"Sorry, Riku."

Riku stared on shocked, as her mind processed what she had been told. Suddenly, she threw the phone against the wall and began to pound on the table, as she cursed continuously. Her ruthless emotion started to diminish, as she laid her head on the counter and started to cry.

"Otosan promised he wouldn't die," muttered Riku, her voice sounding distant to Misaki through the phone. "But, but…"

Misaki said nothing as she let Riku cry her sorrow away. She found it hard that she had ever hated her father the way future Mito had stated. Something must have happened with them when Li had traveled to her time.

After a few minutes past, Misaki asked, "Was—was I a terrible mother?"

Riku looked up at her, showing her eyes were blood red from crying, and glanced away. She sat quietly while trying to think of the right words to say.

Riku picked up the phone, not looking at Misaki, and said "You—you had your reasons for what you did."

Misaki titled her head so she could look in Riku's eyes.

"Riku, please," Misaki asked, knowing Riku was hiding her true feelings.

Riku didn't speak for the longest time, but she came over her nerves and told Misaki the truth. Misaki sat quietly as she listened to the things she hadn't done yet. After what seemed like a decade Riku finished her story.

"S—sorry, Riku," stuttered Misaki.

"No, it is I who should apologize for being such a problem child," replied Riku.

"Riku, no. It wasn't your fault of what had happened to me. I had put too much of my time in getting back at the Syndicate for not only taking your father away from me, but my own mother as well."

"Ah, I forgot about that," said Riku. "I was seven when you had told me that."

"Misaki," Saitou's voice came behind her. She turned to look up at him. "I'm sorry, but your time is up."

"Saitou, can you give us a few more minutes?"

"Sorry, but I already gave you five extra minutes. It's time to go."

"But…"

"Okasan, it's all right," assured Riku.

Misaki looked into her daughter's eyes and could see she would be fine. Misaki nodded and stood to leave. Saitou guided her out as she looked over her shoulder to look at her daughter while exiting the room.

Two security guards were leading Riku in cuffs back to her cell. She frowned about having a court hearing in a few days. She figured Yamato would do his best to see her live the rest of her life behind bars. Riku thought it sucked, but she knew her mother would come by to see her. She thought it would be weird to see her younger self grow up through the years.

The room suddenly seemed to come to a still. The next thing she saw was a teenage girl with green hair and orange eyes dressed in a schoolgirl uniform.

"A—Amber?" questioned Riku. "Wh—what are you doing here?"

"I came to send you back to your time," smiled Amber.

Riku noticed the guards standing still and realized the hall was a grayish gold color.

"Can you help me save otosan by going back in time before he was executed?" Riku asked.

"No, I can't," said Amber.

"What? But you love him, don't you? You kissed him!"

"My other self kissed your father," pointed out Amber.

"But you would have, and you still have to get back the meteor shard Yamato took from my dad."

Amber smiled and held out her right hand to show the shard sitting in her palm. Amber grabbed the keys from one of the guards and un-cuffed Riku. She then placed her left hand on Riku's shoulder and took her to the future.

Xxx

Yamato sat behind his desk filling out his paperwork when his phone on his desk rang. He hit the speaker button and said, "This is Yamato."

"_Sir, this is officer Fuwaru_," said the voice. "_We have some bad news. Kirihara Riku has escaped right under our noses!"_

"What? How?"

"We don't know. The first minute she's with us, and then—poof—she's gone."

"That's not possible!" There was a knock on his door. "Enter!"

The door opened to reveal Kakuri Misuyu entering. He quickly walked over to Yamato's desk looking like he had seen a Contractor for the first time.

"Sir, I got a call from the National Astronomical Observatory," he began. "They had said that UB001 had appeared and it was active around here."

"UB001? Code name Amber, right?" Yamato asked. "Didn't her star fall around the Tokyo Explosion incident almost a year ago?"

"Hai."

"Then how is it possible her star reappeared?"

"We don't know, sir. All we know is that she could freeze time, and it is believed she might be able to travel through time."

Yamato's right eyelid rose and knew Riku had escaped courtesy of Amber. He didn't have an explanation of how it was possible for her to do it, but he would have bet his badge that that's what had happened.

Xxx

Misaki sat in a secluded room with her former colleagues, Kanami, and Yin, as they waited for Yamato and Misuyu to arrive. They wanted to speak with them about something. Misaki had gotten word about her daughter's escape an hour after it had happened. She had been pleased about it and asked Yin, who she decided to watch over for Li, if she could find Riku. Unfortunately, she couldn't which told Misaki that her daughter might have somehow returned to her time.

Moments later Yamato and Miyusu entered and sat in front of them.

"I called you all here because I wanted to let you all know I am going to reinstate Kirihara Misaki as Section-Chief of the Foreign Affairs," said Yamato.

"Oh, since Li's dead you don't have to worry about Misaki going behind your back, right?" questioned Saitou.

"Saitou!" shouted Kanami.

"That is not the reason," said Yamato. "I made the mistake of letting her go. She is a divine officer, and our job at capturing Contractors isn't as proficient without her. Do you accept the offer?"

"On one condition," said Misaki.

"What is it?"

"I'm going to be a mother soon, and I need to be there for my daughter. I would like to do most of my work at home. Officer Miyusu can continue as the Head Section Chief here and out on the streets. Everything else should be e-mailed to me, or use video chat to keep me posted on things."

Yamato frowned but nodded to the agreement.

"There's one other thing," said Yamato. "I want to introduce our new recruit to the team."

The door opened and a man in black clothes entered. Misaki stared at the man flabbergasted. She stood from her chair and ran into Li's arms. He smiled down at her, as she began to cry.

Yin stood from her chair to approach Li and hugged him as tight as a teddy bear with a tear running down her cheek.

"Thank gosh," she sobbed.

"But how?" questioned Misaki.

"Me," said Yamato.

Misaki pushed away from Li and looked at him baffled. She then stared up into Li's eyes.

"I made a deal with him," he said. "In return he would stage my death so everybody would think BK201 is dead."

"I thought as much!" spoke up Kanami.

"Wait, what?" questioned Miyusu. "What would make you think of that?"

"You think, just because you guys won't let me return to the lab that I wouldn't figure his star is still up there? I don't need to look at the charts to know that since his star is the brightest, and it is still shining."

"Eh?" questioned Misaki. "How could I have missed that?"

"Probably because of Li being executed, Misaki. What I want to know is; how'd you fool or trick the other labs across the globe."

"I had to make some deals with them," said Yamato. "To my luck they did."

"What kind of deals?" Kouno asked.

"That's not important at the moment. As of BK201's existence, no one else outside the labs knows he's still alive."

"So you both called us here to tell us to keep our mouths shut," pointed out Saitou.

"That's one reason. Just because the Syndicate fell, doesn't mean the threat of attacks won't continue. I'm sure there's already an organization preparing for one. Hei has agreed to help us under the radar with cases.

"In addition, BK201's star was switched to KB102 since we had killed him instead of Hei on Hei's execution day."

"You executed another Contractor?" questioned Misaki. "What was his name and what had he done to deserve a cruel punishment?"

"Does it matter?"

"Hai, I'd like to know."

Yamato frowned while continuing to say, "Ryutsuki Kyo, and he had killed over four dozen kids in his lifetime. Even before he became a Contractor."

Misaki gulped slightly at the mention of the massacre while averting her eyes.

"Is there anymore questions on my actions?" Yamato asked. Everybody stayed silent. "Very well. Back to the topic at hand, nobody outside this room will know BK201 is the father to Misaki's unborn child. As of now, Li Shengshun is her father."

Li and Misaki looked over at Yamato flabbergasted, as well as Yin, Kanami, and the Foreign Affairs.

"Why keep the truth a secret?" questioned Saitou. "Why hide the fact about her heritage?"

"So she can have a normal childhood to where everybody throughout the world wouldn't look at her in disgust," smiled Misaki. "Thank you, Yamato."

xxx

Misaki and Li entered Misaki's apartment. They walked onto the balcony and stared out at the city with Li holding her in his arms. The cold wind whipped at their hair to have Li brush Misaki's hair to the side and kiss her neck. A shiver ran down her spine from his touch, believing a few days ago that she would never feel it again.

How ironic it felt to her. She never would have thought she would be able to live a normal life with Li, but it seemed like her dream was coming true.

"Do you think Riku made it back to her time alright?" whispered Li.

"I hope so," replied Misaki. "I wonder how much has changed in her time."

"A lot, I assume."

Li spun her around to gaze into her sparkling brown eyes. The next thing he did was kneel before her and pull out a small box. Misaki gasped at the sight, knowing what he was about to ask.

"Kirihara Misaki, we have been through a lot together," he began. "I loved you since the day we had spent together before the Tokyo Explosion, and I can't stop thinking about you day and night.

"I want to be by your side for Riku, and I would be happy if I was your husband. Will you marry me?"

Misaki stared at him, her hand covering her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks like a river flowing after a storm. She wanted to say yes, but to her it seemed everything was moving too quickly.

She removed her hands and opened her mouth to speak, but the words couldn't form on her tongue.

A/N:

Todai: Tokyo's University


	27. Chapter 27

A/N: This is the last chapter of this story. I want to thank everybody who has read, favored, alerted, and reviewed it. I am pleased to know many people took the time in his or her busy schedule to read from start to finish. This chapter is more of a bonus to you all, and I hope you all enjoy it.

P.S. I had started writing an alternate time line with Riku. I'll probably post the first chapter after the second season starts. I titled it, "Riku's Alternate story." Keep an eye open for it if you liked Riku. I know I enjoyed writing her.

Chapter 27: An Alternate World

Twenty-six years later:

The real stars glimmered in the sky, as the moon shined through a few clouds to illuminate portions of the city. The air was hot and humid, making it fill stuffy and hard to breathe. Sirens were echoing off the buildings as cop cars blared down the street towards a location where Mito and Okina were spotted.

Nina and Miko trailed behind Riku on foot down a tight alleyway, as she chased after the suspects, but they couldn't keep up. Mito and Okina turned a corner in which Riku followed. As Nina and Miko rounded it, they saw no signs of Mito, Okina or Riku.

"Where'd they go?" asked Nina.

Nina and Miko continued combing the area, searching around the buildings and inside a few structures, but there were no signs of them. Suddenly, a blur of blue light shined in an abandon storage facility. Nina and Mito ran over to it to check on it, as they removed their guns. They came up to a rusty door along side of the building with a light shining on it. Nina put her back against the wall, as Miko took a hold of it. Nina nodded her head she was ready in which Miko threw open the creaky door to have her scan the place.

As they did, the room seemed to become a blur, but Nina and Miko didn't notice, as Nina's blonde hair turned black, and her blue contact lenses disappeared from her eyes.

Nina frowned and gestured Miko to follow her out of the storage facility. Above them the fake stars littered the sky in which Nina and Miko paid no attention, as Nina pulled out her phone to call Riku.

There was no answer.

Suddenly, Miko's phone rang. He pulled it off his belt and clicked the button to show a man in his early twenties with brown hair and blue eyes.

"This is Miko."

"_Ah, Miko, I tried getting a hold of Officer Kirihara, but I didn't get an answer," _said the brown-haired man. _"I'm calling because Okina's star had disappeared."_

"Is that so, Miyuki? All right, arigatou."

"_Is Riku all right?" _his voice betraying his concern for her.

"Don't know. We lost sight of her. I'm sure she's fine though."

Miyuki nodded and hung up the phone. A blue aerodynamic car turned the corner, drove its way down the alleyway, and stopped beside Nina and Miko. The two officers tensed as the driver side window rolled down. Inside sat a woman in the darkened cockpit. They could make out her facial feature, long hair and a pair of oval shaped glasses.

"Where is she?" asked the woman.

"We don't know, Commander," said Nina. She informed her boss about Okina's star.

The Commander nodded her head and then stared at her steering wheel looking concerned.

"What happened to you, Riku?" she muttered.

Unexpectedly, Nina's phone rang. She dug it out of her pocket and turned on the hologram to show Kirihara Riku on it. She was wearing an orange suit, which looked like prisoners wore, and her hair came down to her shoulder.

"Riku, is that you?" shouted Nina.

"_Ni—Nina_?" questioned Riku flabbergasted.

"What did you do to your hair? You get it cut accidently by a Contractor?"

The last time she had saw her a few minutes ago, she was wearing her black coat, blue jeans, and her hair came down to the middle of her back.

Nina also noticed Riku was gazing around the city as if she was lost.

"_My hair?" babbled Riku. "What about yours?_"

"What? Is there something in it?" Nina asked, as she began messing with her hair while feeling for something in it.

"_Never mind that. What's the deal with the fake stars?"_

"Fake stars?" questioned Miko. "Riku, are you on something? What happened to Okina, who you were chasing after, and what happened to the clothes you were wearing?"

"_Okina? Commander Okina?"_

"Commander? Riku?" barked Nina.

"Officer Tsuya, tell Section-Chief Kirihara Riku I want to see her in my office," said the Commander.

"Hai, I'll tell her," replied Nina.

The Commander rolled up the window and drove off. Nina relayed the message to Riku, who ended up looking on confused.

"_EH? Me, Section-Chief?_" questioned Riku

Riku stepped onto the subway and sat down. Moments later the train pulled out of the station and headed to the next one. People began to stare at her awkwardly from the jump suit she was wearing.

She giggled and said, "I'm cosplaying."

Ten minutes into the ride the train pulled into her station in which she exited and headed up the stairs. She jaywalked over to her building, causing cars to honk at her, and entered it. She approached her landlord's office, knocked on it, and waited for an answer.

The door opened as an old man peeked through it and said, "Who is it? Oh, Riku-chan, what can I do for you?"

Riku let out a breath she was holding and was grateful she was still living here. No doubt, with the meddling she had done in the past, she had created another alternate world. She wondered, besides the Contractors still living amongst humans, what else had changed?

"Eh, I lost my key, I was wondering if you had a spare?" she asked.

She hadn't lost her key. The police department in the past had confiscated it before they put her in the slammer.

"Oh, yeah. I'll have to charge you for losing it, you know."

Riku nodded with a smile. Her landlord stepped from the door, and returned moments later with a spare. She took it while bowing, headed up to her room, and entered it. Her décor had changed slightly with pictures around the walls, but she paid no attention to them. Riku caught a glimpse of her two friends and her at a party drinking the night away.

She expected to see Yin, but there wasn't any sign of her. Riku entered her bedroom, grabbed a button-up white shirt, jean pants, and pink bra and panties. She walked into her bathroom, removed her prison clothes, and showered.

Fifteen minutes later she stepped from it, dressed in her clean clothes, and as she was heading out the door, she found her mom's spare keys to her Porsche. Fear began to overwhelm her that her mother had died sometime ago if she had possession of the car.

A tear escaped her eye, as she grabbed the keys, and headed down stairs. She found the car sitting a few meters away looking as though it had come off the faculty line. Riku entered it, turned the key to bring the car alive, and drove towards the Police station.

She turned on the radio to listen to some music and settle her mood down. To her relief Gackt's Blue Lagoon was playing. It relaxed her slightly, but she wondered what was in store for her at the Foreign Affairs besides being the Section-Chief.

A few minutes later the song ended.

"_And we're back," _said the DJ. _"I have with me a special guest. Schrader-sensei."_

Riku's eyes bulged out of her sockets, as she gazed down at the radio for a second. Schrader? But how? He was supposed to be killed by Hourai.

"_Now, you're the grandson of the famous Schrader-sensei who built the Jupiter and Saturn system, right?" _the DJ asked.

"_Hai, that is correct," _said Schrader.

Riku frowned, never realizing Schrader-sensei had had kids. She hoped dear ole grandson wasn't continuing his grandfather's research.

"_You've heard of these rumors that BK201 is still alive. As a Professor at Todai, what do you say?" _the DJ asked.

"_He most definitely is still alive,"_ said Schrader. _"The proof is in the sky, of course. My grandfather told me after Heaven's Gate disappeared BK201's star became the brightest. If you gaze up at it you can see it's burning brightly."_

Riku looked out of her windshield and up at the stars, but she couldn't see them since there was an overcast. However, Schrader had to be wrong since Riku's mom had witnessed the execution herself.

"_But the Foreign Affairs and the labs across the world say his star fell," _continued the DJ._ "They have the charts so they would know if he was still alive."_

"_True, but I believe that the former Commander of the Foreign Affairs had struck a deal with the labs across the world."_

"_And what kind of deal is that?"_

"_Better funding than what they were getting. If you look at their marketing value, you can see it had risen over the years."_

"_But isn't that because of the economy doing better after the downfall we had back in two-thousand and nine and ten?"_

"_It's a disguise, if you ask me. More to the point, people have seen a man running around on the roof wearing a mask and coat."_

"_The person people are calling Tokyo's Dark Knight? But didn't BK201 wear a different type of mask?"_

"_He changed it. I've done a comparison on their body structures, and even though Tokyo's Dark Knight is a little fatter, they have the same height."_

"_A fatty Dark Knight. That's funny. Thanks for your theory, Schrader-sensei. And now here's some Despair's Ray."_

As the song REDEEMER began to play, Riku pulled up to the Foreign Affairs. She exited her vehicle, walked up the ramp, and entered the building.

"Ah Chief, you're all right!" shouted a policeman, as he came over to her. He was the same build as Saitou, but he had slightly longer hair. Riku didn't know the guy, but it seemed he did. "I was so worried about your safety, Chief."

"Eh, right, thanks for your concern," said Riku, feeling sheepish.

"There you are!" shouted Miko behind her. She turned around to see him and Nina approaching. "Detective Yuusuke Nabuyuki! Section Chief Kirihara doesn't have time for chitchat."

"Oh, sorry," said Nabuyuki.

Riku's eyes widened in shock to hear the guy had the same heritage name as Saitou. She wondered who the woman was that had his kid. It couldn't have been Kanami, or was it?

Miko and Nina guided Riku into the elevator and headed up to the fourth floor.

"So what happened?" asked Nina. "How'd you end up all the way over on the other side of town?"

"Eh, maybe a Contractor teleported me there," said Riku.

She wasn't lying since Amber had brought her back to that spot.

"The only Contractor we knew that was active was Okina," said Miko.

Riku shrugged as the elevator doors opened to let them exit. Riku walked over to the commander's office and entered to see nobody was present. She cursed the female Commander under her breath and meant to give her a piece of her mind.

Moments later the door opened. Riku turned around to let out a tongue-lashing, but she held it as she stared at her mother. She still had an elegant figure, but she had gained a few wrinkles on her forehead from too much worrying. Her dim-colored hair hung loose with a few strands curtaining her brown eyes, and she wore her casual blue suit and oval-shaped glasses.

Riku, unable to control her emotions, ran over to hug her. Tears of joy ran down her cheeks simulating waterfalls.

"Are—are you all right?" her mother asked surprised.

"Hai, Okasan," said Riku, as she broke away.

"Section-Chief Kirihara, I thought I had told you not to call me that on the job."

"Ah, sorry." Riku blushed.

Her mother frowned at her, and then rounded her desk to sit. She leaned back and eased her arms on the armrest.

"What happened with you and Okina?" she asked. "Were you able to stop him from going back in time?"

"Eh?" Riku asked startled. "Why—why would he do that?"

"To change the past and help the Syndicate stay in business. I thought we already talked about this, Section-Chief Kirihara. It was you who presented the case in the first place."

"Oh right. Hai, I was able to stop them," replied Riku, not really lying.

"What happened to them?"

Riku looked at her mother puzzled concerning the question. Her mother frowned and told her about Okina's star disappearing.

"Eh, well," began Riku, as she worked her brain to come up with a reliable story. "Eh, Mito and Okina split up, and so I went after Mito. I shot him, and then he fell into a trash compactor. I went after Okina, and when I found him he was already at the machine. I shot at him, as he went back in time with my bullet hitting him."

"So you're not sure he was killed," said her mother.

"If I wasn't, wouldn't time have changed?"

Her mother was quiet while she pursed her lips and thought on the story. A few minutes later she said, "All right. I want a full report about that on my desk by tomorrow morning. Now get back to work."

"Hai, Oka—eh… Commander Kirihara."

Riku turned on her heels and exited the office. She walked over to the desk that had her name on it and sat down to start typing away at the computer. She was pleased that technology hadn't changed. Riku looked back at her mother and noticed she was talking with someone on the phone. She smiled at her and continued writing out her so-called report.

Moments later Nina came up to her and said, "I got a call from Miyuki that MP005 is active in Harajuku."

Riku stared up at Nina baffled and asked, "Who's Miyuki?"

Nina looked at her startled and then narrowed her eyes.

Xxx

Kanami talked with Misaki through the hologram. Misaki wasn't pleased at the news she had received from the lab.

"Are you sure UB001's star appeared?" Misaki asked.

"_Hai, I am, but only for a short time_," replied Kanami. "_It was active on the other side of town_."

Misaki looked away from her friend and pondered on the information. Her daughter had somehow teleported over there, and now Amber was supposedly around the vicinity as well. She didn't think it was a coincident, and she had a theory herself.

"What about Okina's star? Has it appeared yet?" Misaki asked.

"_No, I've also got word from Miyuki that MP005 was active in Harajuku. He's already told Nina._"

"All right, I'll talk to you later."

Misaki hit the tone button and dialed another number. Moments later a view of Tokyo Tower appeared in the hologram.

"_What is it?_" asked a man's voice.

"There's Contractor activity in Harajuku," said Misaki.

"_All right, I'll get Yin to look around while I'm heading over there."_

"There are a couple other things. Amber's star had appeared again, but she's gone."

"_And the other?"_

"She's finally returned."

xxx

Riku drove her car through the streets of Tokyo with Nina in the passenger seat and Miko in the back. Her two friends braced against her reckless driving as she drifted around corners and blazed down the road.

"Oi, Riku, I like the anime Initial D as much as you do, but can you take it easy?" Miko asked.

"If we don't then he'll get away," said Riku.

"You mean, she," corrected Nina. "Are you feeling all right, Riku? First you asked me about my hair and the stars, you were surprised that you're the Section-Chief, and then you wanted to know who Miyuki is. Did you hit your head or something?"

Riku smiled embarrassedly. Things were going to be tough for her for a while. They entered the district of Harajuku in which Riku slowed the car down. They drove by the JR line station, as they looked around the stores, passed under a pedestrian bridge that was near a bridge where Harajuku girls hung out, and turned left.

Suddenly, they saw a woman highlight in blue down the street to make a man cry out in pain. She then took something from him and ran off.

"That's got to be her!" yelled Nina.

She pulled out her phone to call it in, as Riku turned on her siren and hit the gas to chase after the Contractor. The Contractor looked back at them and ran into a building. Riku hit the brakes and exited the car to run after her. Nina and Miko followed.

"Wait, Riku!" shouted Miko.

Riku didn't listen and chased after the Contractor up stairs. The Contractor reached the top floor and burst through the door to run onto the roof. Riku dashed out and scanned the roof for her, but she wasn't anywhere.

Suddenly, Riku felt a sharp pain shoot through her nerves and fell on her knees. The female Contractor stepped from behind a vent. She was a plump woman, which Riku found it awkward she had run up five flights of stairs. The plump woman was about to run off, but a cable wrapped around her body, and then a volt of electricity shot through it to electrocute her. MP005's eyes rolled up into her head and fell forward.

Riku, staring on shocked, followed the cable line, and saw a man dressed in a black trench coat wearing a tan mask. The mask had rounded eyes, and a stern smile that gave an elegant feeling. She could tell he had toned muscles hidden underneath his coat, and his black medium length hair had strands of gray.

"O—Otosan?" questioned Riku to herself.

The trench coat man didn't respond. He instead whipped out his cable line and flew off into the distance.

xxx

Riku stood in her mother's office, as Nabuyuki and a skinny man guided MP005 through the department while she squirmed to get free of them.

"Let me go!" she screamed. "For gosh sakes let me go!"

"Sorry, we can't do that," said Nabuyuki.

"You don't understand, my obeisance is for me to run away!"

"Oh, really? Well, aren't you in a heap of sh…"

"Nabuyuki, language!" said the skinny man.

Moments later her mother walked in, leaned back against her desk, and looked at Riku over her glasses.

"Good work, Section-Chief Kirihara," she said.

"Eh, no, not really," muttered Riku, as she averted her eyes. "I had help."

"I know Nina and Miko had helped, but you still did a wonderful job."

"Oka—Commander, I didn't stop her. O—Otosan did." Riku said, as she looked at her mom.

Her mother narrowed her eyes at her.

"You know what had happened to him, and you know not to say that here," she stated.

"S—sorry."

"Forget it. Go home and get some rest."

Riku bowed and exited the room to head over to the elevator. She entered to ride it down to the lobby and exited it. As she drew towards the doors she saw Yamato entering. He walked by, giving her a dirty look, and stepped into the elevator. Riku wondered what was going on.

xxx

Misaki sighed and sat behind her desk to relax a bit before heading home. Things were going to be interesting for the next few months for her and Riku. The poor child didn't know what to expect from the changes that had happened over the years. It also killed Misaki that she had no memories about the past life they had shared.

Suddenly, her door opened and Yamato entered looking displeased. Misaki frowned since he most likely figured out about Riku as well.

"So you know," he stated.

"Hai, I do," said Misaki.

"How about I take this to Commander Kakuri? I'm sure he'll like hearing about it."

After the Syndicate had lost their hold on the Foreign Affairs, Misaki's father had built a new Higher up branch for the department. Her father retired six years later in which Yamato took over, and then Misuya became the head of the department.

"You can go ahead, but you'll have a lot of explaining to do. And also, my father would intervene with you about the matter."

Yamato glared at her while clenching his teeth and said, "She's a criminal who needs to be punished."

"Isn't she being punished enough by not knowing what the past twenty-five years have been like?" Yamato looked at her flabbergasted. "Enjoy your retirement and let me handle things."

Yamato cursed and left the room while Misaki watched.

xxx

Riku entered her apartment and flopped onto her couch. She began to think of what had happened a few hours ago. She knew that that trench coat person was her father. It couldn't have been anybody else.

She looked over at a picture, hoping to see him in any of them, but she didn't. Suddenly, she saw one with her mother, her and some guy with brown hair and blue eyes. Riku picked up it, stared at it, and saw a birthday cake that had Miyuki written on it. Her eyes widened, as she believed she was looking at her brother.

A draft of wind whipped at her hair. Riku looked towards the window to see the trench coat man standing before her. He had blue eyes and a smile that belonged to Li.

Riku stood and ran into his arms.

"You kept your promise!" shouted Riku.

"So your mother was right," he said. "You've finally returned to your time."

"Eh? She figured it out?" Riku asked, as she looked up at him.

"Hai."

"But how? Okasan had told me you were executed?"

"Yamato made a deal with me. I joined his organization to help bring down the Syndicate, and he made it look like BK201 died. Your mom didn't find out the truth until after Amber returned you to this time."

Riku smiled with joy and hugged him.

One month later:

Riku was standing in her mother and father's apartment with them, their friends, and Miyuki's friends. Apparently, they were celebrating her little brother's twenty-first birthday. Riku decided to wear a Chinese dress similar to the one her mother had worn at Alice's party. Unfortunately, her hair wasn't long enough to tie back into two bonnets. She instead let it hang loose.

She had been informed that her younger self and brother had never been told their father was the Black Reaper. They weren't told the truth until she had joined the Foreign Affairs and he the Astronomy Division.

She also was told that nobody knew she was the daughter of the Black Reaper; giving Riku a normal child hood.

As for her parents, they had married a year before Miyuki was born. Apparently, her father took on Misaki's heritage name.

Riku let out a breath of relief to know she wasn't seeing anyone. She was teased that she was following in her mother's footsteps to where she would fall in love with a Contractor someday. Her brother on the other hand was dating a girl his age at his lab. Asuka was good-looking with silky black hair and a tiny figure.

Her mother brought out a cake with a number twenty-one candle on top and set it before Miyuki. Everybody sang happy birthday to him, and as the song finished, Asuka kissed him.

"You're a big boy now!" shouted Kanami. "You don't need your big sister to protect you anymore."

Kanami and Saitou had married when Riku was ten, and Nabuyuki was their son. Kanami continued to smoke in which Riku's younger self had tried to bump cigarettes off her. Unfortunately she didn't give in.

"Riku protect him?" questioned Asuka. "I recall Miyuki busting our senpai's teeth out for calling him Riku's little brother. Its more like Riku needs the protection."

"Really?" began Riku's father. "Your Vice-principle had told me that Riku had to intervene when your senpai pounded the living stuffing out of him after that? Her mother and I had punished her more than Miyuki."

Asuka frowned at Riku's father. Her mother began to cut the cake into small slices, and gave the guests a piece of cake. Miyuki walked over to Riku looking displeased.

"Oi, Sister," he asked. "What's the deal with you?"

"What, Miyuki?" Riku asked.

"Don't what me? You know perfectly well what. I haven't seen you pop a cigarette in your mouth or smell tobacco on you lately."

"I quit."

"Why and when?"

"About a month ago and I have my own reasons."

"What? Can't irritate mom anymore or something?"

"Maybe."

"How? You and mom were always at each other's throat. Why the change of heart?"

"Some things change through time, Miyuki," smiled Riku.

Miyuki frowned at her and then took in her feature.

"And what's the deal wearing that Chinese dress?" he pointed out. "You know I hate it when you wear it around my friends. It exposes too much of your skin."

"If your friends get a little out of hand you know I can straighten them out easily."

Miyuki shook his head and walked off.

He had developed their mother's uneasiness and hunger for greasy food. He could act tough in front of people as did their mother, but his clumsiness got the best of him like their father.

"Hey, Riiikuu!" yelled out Kiko, as she waltzed over to her.

"Kiko-san, are you drunk?" Riku asked.

"Ah, a little. I'm mean to ask. Ya remind me of someone years ago. It funny too. She had the same name as your best friend, Nina."

Kiko wasn't the brightest detective in the world, but she did have her smarts.

"Is that so?" questioned Riku while sweating.

"Yeah, it like you went back in time or something" babbled Kiko. "You not telling me something, Riku-chan?"

"No, of course not, Kiko-san."

"Really? Then what you say if I call you, obasan?"

Anger rose in Riku as she fought against it. She wanted to knock the stuffing out of Kiko, but that would have given away who she was.

"I say forty is the new twenty, so I must be ten," smiled Riku.

Kiko returned it and hugged her like a bear. Riku huffed out a breath of air from the pain. She then broke away and twirled off into the crowd. Yin walked over and blinked ecstatically.

"All right, Riku?" she asked.

"Fine, Yin, although I had a close one with Kiko," replied Riku.

"It must be hard on you not knowing your childhood with your father."

"It is, but it's also a blessing to have him alive."

Yin smiled.

xxx

The last party guest had left two hours ago. Misaki stood on her balcony looking out at the city, as Li walked up behind to embrace her.

"It seems Riku is getting on with things," whispered Li.

"Hai," replied Misaki. "I'm just grateful I don't have to smell smoke on her anymore."

"You know she did that to annoy you. If you didn't show it bugged you she would have quit."

"How'd you know that?"

"She told me when she started the Foreign Affairs."

"And when were you going to tell me that, dear?" Misaki asked, as she turned to stare in his eyes.

"I promised I wouldn't tell. Now that she doesn't remember I can say something about it."

"She favored you more, even now."

Li smiled and kissed Misaki. Misaki pulled away and walked towards the bed while gesturing Li to follow.

"I'll be there in a minute," said Li.

"Don't take too long," stated Misaki.

Li nodded and stared out at the city.

Even though the wall of Hell's Gate had been taken down, a fence line still surrounded the grater with a portion of Pandora in the mist of it. The CIA had been the Foreign Affairs only problem as they continued their own research. The Foreign Affairs had patrols roam around the fence line to keep them out, but occasionally they slipped through. Nothing was perfect.

Suddenly, he noticed a woman standing on a roof across from him. She had green hair, orange eyes, and wore a red and black jump suit. She was smiling at him with delight. Li returned it.

"Thank you, Amber," he said.

Li turned on his heels and went to bed.

End


End file.
